“That’s called a perfect evasion of the oath’s power. You can only blame yourself for being so vague in your words from the start.”
Havier pointed his staff toward Loenke. “Enough! Quickly tell me your secret! Why is the Holy Seal ineffective against you?”
“I never said the Holy Seal doesn’t work on me. In fact, the seal is still very much active.”
Loenke pulled open his shirt, revealing the chain marks on his body. “As you can see, I indeed cannot communicate with the Goddess of Light, and she can no longer trouble me. I must thank you for that.”
“That’s impossible! You’ve lost the connection with the Goddess, how can you still use divine magic!? Even the legendary Archbishop of the White Robes and the Divine Crown Pope were defeated by the Holy Seal!”
“How can this be!?”
“The divine magic system is different from the magical system. I’m sure you know that.”
Loenke casually scratched his ear, smiling as he gathered Holy Light at his fingertips. “Magic is all about the configuration of magic and the elemental ratios. The incantations are simply shorthand for constructing the configurations.
Wizards, Archmages, Alchemists, and Sorcerers—while they each have their own characteristics, they all end up the same in the end.
But divine magic and divine spells are different. Take the priests of the Holy Light Church, for example. We don’t store light elements within our bodies. Instead, we mix divine power to create Holy Light.
When we cast divine spells, we need a configuration, but we only do part of the work. The rest is provided by the Goddess of Light.
It’s like the Goddess of Light provides different models of magic cannon, and the priest just loads, aims, and fires.
So, once the Holy Seal seals the divine power, even high-ranking priests are powerless.
After all, without a cannon tube, no matter how powerful the shell is, how accurate the aim is, or how dramatic the firing posture is, it’s all for nothing.
But I’m different. Besides the official server of the Goddess of Light, I’ve set up my own private server.”
Havier smacked his lips, “Private... private server?”
Loenke raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Divine magic, at its core, is about calling upon the resources of the Goddess of Light. But she loves to throw temper tantrums and make things difficult for me. So, instead of dealing with her moods, I decided to handle things myself. Thus, I set up a ‘private server’—I don’t need her anymore. I can get things done on my own.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
He raised his hand, summoning a pure ball of Holy Light in his palm. “It’s like those government-run games that don’t work. Smart people always find a way around it. Now, I’m the server administrator, always online and doing whatever I want.”
He winked, his tone light as though telling a joke. “In the end, relying on mountains means they may collapse, relying on gods means they run away. Only relying on yourself is the true truth.”
Loenke clapped his hands. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I’m actually not fully attuned to light elements. I’m fully attuned to the Laws of Light.
In terms of authority over the laws, I’m above the Goddess of Light.
So don’t talk about the Holy Seal. Even if she herself were to come, she couldn’t seal my power.
Unless, of course, you find someone with greater authority over the Laws of Light.”
Havier growled in fury, “Nonsense! You, a mere mortal! How can you be above a god in terms of authority over the laws?”
Loenke shrugged, “It’s just natural. Why get so worked up? The Lord of Truth didn’t react at all, which means what I said is true.”
With those words, Havier’s face went as pale as snow. If this was true, did he still have any chance of winning?
No, it’s time to strike first!
“Holy Magic! Dimensional Wind Blade!”
“Supra-divine magic! Light’s Fall!”
The two of them struck almost simultaneously. Havier summoned two enormous wind blades capable of tearing through dimensional barriers.
Holy Magic, instant cast with no chant, and casting two at once—this level of power was enough to dominate the continent.
But Loenke, facing him, was even more terrifying. He casually pointed his finger, casting a supra-divine spell one tier above Havier’s.
Twelve Holy Light magic arrays stacked above Havier’s head, and a beam of light the width of a finger locked onto his forehead.
With a loud crash, the booming Holy Light descended from the sky, directly enveloping Havier.
In desperation, Havier crossed his two dimensional blades, tearing apart the space above him and redirecting a large portion of the Holy Light. But the remaining part still obliterated two-thirds of his body.
Even after the light faded, his body began to heal rapidly, though noticeably slower than before.
At this point, Havier completely believed Loenke’s words. The no-chant instant cast supra-divine magic had only been used once by Emperor Delanos I during the Holy War, and only with the aid of three divine artifacts.
After using it, Delanos had lost his combat ability temporarily.
Yet this young man had cast it effortlessly, without any divine artifacts, and without the slightest strain.
“How many times can you cast supra-divine magic with your foundation?”
Loenke smiled, “That’s hard to say. Let’s wait and see when the Goddess of Light notices. As a dead enemy, you should know this well.
When a priest casts a divine spell, they pay part of the cost, while the Goddess of Light pays the other part.
Under normal circumstances, it’s a 9-to-1 ratio.
If there’s divine blessing, plus some holy artifacts, gifts, or special circumstances, the Goddess’s share may increase.
Some people even reach a shocking 50-50 split.
But I don’t get along with her, so before we fell out, it was 10 to zero—she didn’t spend any divine power, I had to pay for everything.
When I was under her roof, I tolerated it. But after we had our falling out, I didn’t hold back.
I found a loophole on her side... It’s a bit complicated to explain, but you just need to know that now, when I cast divine magic, the cost is split zero to ten with the Goddess.
So, before she notices the anomaly, finds the loophole, and fixes it...
I’m using her divine spells, and I’m getting all the benefits!”
Havier, horrified, couldn’t tell if Loenke was bluffing, but from the very beginning, everything had been outside his understanding.
In frustration, Havier’s hand moved toward his heart.
“I never expected to have to use this here.”