Volume 1, Chapter 53 – The Eternal Daylight Mages

On the streets of Aurora City, four individuals moved in near-perfect synchronization. Their steps seemed almost magical—despite the crowded thoroughfares packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people and carriages, they glided through effortlessly as if walking on open ground.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell these four were extraordinary, not to be trifled with lightly.

At the head of the group was a young girl with pale blue hair, her appearance resembling that of a human girl around sixteen or seventeen. She lifted her head, squinting slightly as she gazed at the sky—not at the sun, but at the suspended purple crescent moon.

Though the radiance of the Unsinkable Moon was dimmed by the sun’s presence, for a Stellacryst Beast as sensitive to magic as her, it was impossible to ignore. Worse still, because of the sudden appearance of the Unsinkable Moon, they could no longer leave Aurora City.

The Eternal Daylight Mages.

That was the name of their organization.

A group that rejected deities, fervently worshipping magic instead.

Unlike the faithful of the Church, who believed salvation could be attained through devotion to the gods, the members of the Eternal Daylight Mages held that magic was the universal remedy. When intelligent beings faced calamity, they could rely on magic to save themselves—there was no need to grovel before the gods, begging for deliverance.

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Thus, to the Milcandis Holy Kingdom, a theocratic state, the Eternal Daylight Mages was heresy among heresies. However, the Holy Kingdom, located in the northwest corner of the continent, and the Eternal Daylight Mages, based in the southeast, shared no borders. With no direct confrontation possible, the Holy Kingdom could only issue condemnations, powerless to eradicate them.

Moreover, the members of the Eternal Daylight Mages were fanatical in their pursuit of magic, constantly exchanging newly researched arcane knowledge among themselves. As a result, their individual strength was formidable. More often than not, it was the Eternal Daylight Mages causing disturbances for the Holy Kingdom, not the other way around—by the time the Holy Knights arrived, the Eternal Daylight Mages members had long since vanished, sometimes even leaving behind mocking graffiti to taunt the devout.

Unfortunately, the situation had now reversed because of the Unsinkable Moon. Trapped in Aurora City, they were in the worst possible predicament.

“Calista, what’s wrong?”

The tall man behind the blue-haired girl asked in a low voice.

The girl called Calista withdrew her gaze from the Unsinkable Moon and shook her head lightly.

“Nothing. I just didn’t expect to run into this on our way back. At least we didn’t cause any trouble in Aurora City—otherwise, the Holy Knights swarming the streets wouldn’t be searching for the Elf Princess, but for us.”

Calista and her team had been tasked with documenting the war between the Elf Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom, then returning with their findings. So when the Holy Kingdom withdrew part of its forces back to Aurora City, Calista’s group followed.

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As a result, while passing the edge of the Dry Desert, they witnessed an earth-shattering explosion, as if heralding the end of the world.

As a member of the Eternal Daylight Mages, Calista refused to believe this had anything to do with the elusive gods. She was convinced it was a magical disaster. Who had caused it, and why, she didn’t know. But, that didn’t stop her from seeing it as thrilling news to bring back to the Eternal Daylight Mages.

For them, a magical disaster of this magnitude that is comparable to a ninth-tier spell, possibly even brushing against the threshold of the tenth-tier, would be seismic. The reason the Eternal Daylight Mages had failed to replace the major churches as the dominant ideology on the World Tree Continent was precisely because their doctrine “Magic is Omnipotent” was not, in fact, omnipotent.

Legends spoke of divine emissaries wielding tenth-tier magic, while the strongest among the Eternal Daylight Mages could barely manage eighth-tier spells and even that required burning their life force as fuel. This ceiling was why they could never become mainstream.

People worshipped gods because they were omnipotent, capable of bringing happiness and hope. The Eternal Daylight Mages was not omnipotent, so no one believed in them.

But now, tenth-tier magic had appeared before their very eyes. If the Eternal Daylight Mages trusted Calista’s report and somehow found the supreme spellcaster capable of such magic, their standing on the World Tree Continent would undergo a monumental shift. For it would prove that intelligent beings could reach the realm of the gods through their own power without borrowing divine might.

Compared to this, the war between the Elf Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom was child’s play.

“How long must we remain trapped in Aurora City?”

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“All we can do is pray the Elf Princess is captured soon or that she unleashes her seventh-tier magic and forces the Holy Kingdom to withdraw the Unsinkable Moon.”

Calista sighed helplessly.

“But we both saw the Elf Princess pierced by the Unsinkable Moon. The fact that she’s still alive is a miracle. It’ll take months of recovery before she’s back to full strength. If we do encounter her, we should lend her some aid. After all, she’s the Elf Kingdom’s foremost genius. Not even of age, yet already at the seventh-tier. She’ll undoubtedly reach the eighth-tier in the future. Investing in her goodwill now would be wise.”

“If we can find her.”

Her subordinate’s addition made Calista sigh again. If even the Holy Knights swarming the city couldn’t locate the princess, what hope did their group of four who were unable to act openly have? Showing goodwill wouldn’t be easy.

“It is because of their existence that the Darkborn still linger! The Darkborn spotted in the city yesterday infiltrated the slums through these traitors!”

“Kill them!”

“Bring down divine punishment upon them!”

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Sudden shouts made Calista halt. She looked up toward the commotion ahead.

At the end of the street was an open square, where a platform stood about a meter high. A priest stood atop it, using exaggerated expressions and gestures to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Behind him were three individuals bound in hemp ropes, wearing only thin shirts and shorts, guarded by soldiers.

Beside them stood a guillotine, its triangular blade gleaming sharply under the sun, so bright it made onlookers avert their eyes.

“They’re executing people infected with the Darkborn curse,” the tall man behind Calista explained. “Should we ignore it?”

“Let’s get closer first.”

“Understood.”