#051. **White Sun (1)**
—
Time passed, but nothing happened.
There was no tremendous burst of light shooting through the hole in the ceiling, nor any deafening roar reverberating through the space.
Yet Ray knew.
He could sense the colossal mana storm raging within, spanning the entirety of the abandoned factory.
“……”
He could hear the screams of mana.
He could hear it twisting and breaking apart.
For Ray, whose sensitivity to mana far exceeded that of ordinary mages, the intensity of this phenomenon surpassed any calamity he had ever experienced.
How much time had passed?
Finally, the storm subsided.
‘…It’s over.’
He glanced around briefly.
Dim sunlight streamed in, and the air carried the metallic scent of rust.
The scene before him was indistinguishable from any other day, almost making the events that had transpired inside the factory feel like a lie.
But it was real.
The sweat soaking his body, the scratches covering him, his torn clothes, and the layers of dirt all bore evidence of his success.
*Creeeeak—*
Ray pushed open the door.
The first thing he noticed was the absence of mana within the factory.
It was as if the storm had swept everything away.
Now, mana from the outside world began to seep in through the open door and the hole in the ceiling, slowly filling the void.
“……”
This day, Ray had encountered two unprecedented phenomena.
The man’s “disappeared vessel” and the erased mana in the atmosphere.
‘There were cases where ambient mana was utilized to amplify the power of a magic circle.’
Ray looked up.
The light pouring through the hole in the ceiling illuminated a circular area on the floor below, like a spotlight on a stage.
Technically, there was still a trace of mana inside the factory.
Right there, in the illuminated spot.
Suspended mid-air at eye level, a crimson thread of mana floated serenely.
Below it lay scattered fragments of the man’s clothing.
And his ring.
But the man himself was nowhere to be seen.
Ray instinctively understood that the crimson thread had been extracted from the man.
The thread unraveled, its end pulling toward the ring. Before long, it completely disappeared.
*Step. Step.*
Ray picked up the ring.
‘This is the Bloodstone, isn’t it?’
The Bloodstone pulsed rapidly, emitting an almost blinding red glow.
Ray could feel the absorbed crimson mana merging seamlessly with the gem itself.
As the old man had explained, the gem’s function as a mana reservoir had likely been enhanced.
The mana obtained through such sacrifices couldn’t be refined back into mana circles, but it could enhance magical tools or be repurposed for other uses.
*Buzz—*
The ring’s glow subsided, returning to its normal state.
The task here was complete.
All that remained was to return, rest, and then head to the man’s underground lair to investigate clues about Murcred and the Rainbow.
But before that, Ray felt the urge to test the gem.
The man had been strong enough, so the gem’s capabilities must have been significantly enhanced.
‘The quality of the mana within must have improved too.’
It might even rival the mana stored in circles.
The thought stirred Ray’s instincts.
Suppressing his exhaustion, he drew the gem’s mana forth.
*Buzz—*
The crimson mana poured from the gem into Ray’s palm.
…It exceeded his expectations.
While it still didn’t reach the caliber of circle’s mana, its quality had improved severalfold compared to before.
Now, he understood why the man had sacrificed so much to enhance the gem.
Of course, Ray himself had no intention of committing such acts.
*Buzz—*
He guided the crimson mana from his palm up his wrist and arm.
At that moment, a memory surfaced in his mind.
“P-Please don’t hit me! I’m sorry!”
The memory of being kicked daily by the drunken orphanage director.
“Get lost! This bread is mine!”
The memories of being robbed and beaten while wandering the streets.
The hatred he felt toward the world as he ate a piece of hardened bread salvaged from dirty water.
A longing for strength that had burned within him his entire life.
‘These aren’t my memories.’
They belonged to the man.
The overarching emotion in those memories was searing rage. The life of a street rat, so vividly etched into the man’s past, was reminiscent of the hardships Kedrick had once tearfully confessed.
Perhaps that was why the man could so deeply understand—and exploit—Kedrick’s despair.
Ray also felt the man’s rage pressing against the barrier of his emotions, as if asking to be let in.
Demanding that he feel this fury too.
After a moment of contemplation, Ray used the ring’s mana to ignite a flame in his palm.
*Fwoosh!*
The crimson and orange flame flickered beautifully, radiating from his hand.
“……”
Though Ray’s expression remained blank, his eyes reflected a trance-like state as he stared into the fire.
A thought struck him.
If he fully utilized the ring’s mana, how large could this flame grow?
Ray lowered the barrier to his emotions.
The man’s rage surged into his mind as if it had been waiting for this moment.
“I’ll kill them all! I’ll become strong enough that no one can ever ignore me again!”
As the man’s fury resonated with him, the flame in Ray’s palm grew fivefold in size.
It radiated intense heat and vivid colors, yet Ray felt it wasn’t enough.
This wasn’t the ring’s full potential.
Ray recalled the rainy night.
The collapsed tent soaked in blood.
Niles, his chest pierced through.
And the golem crawling across the ground, its side crushed.
Like the overflowing Elton River on that stormy night, rage flooded Ray’s mind.
*Fwoosh!*
The flame grew again, now large enough to engulf the upper body of an adult man.
Without mana protecting his body, his skin would have already begun to burn.
“……”
Ray continued to gaze at the fire.
The rage within his mind now stemmed solely from his own memories.
The man’s fury had been entirely displaced.
‘I can grow the flame to this size.’
With his emotions pushed to the limit, the ring’s potential had been maximized.
The experiment was complete.
He could suppress his rage and return to normal at any moment.
But Ray didn’t.
‘Suppress my emotions? Why should I?’
In his trance, the urge to unleash this rage consumed him.
His head and chest burned.
His entire body felt like it was on fire—not from the flame’s heat, but from the anger itself.
Suppressing his emotions would dispel the rage and its accompanying pain. But releasing it would bring an unprecedented sense of catharsis.
And he knew exactly how to release it.
‘By destroying something.’
Be it a person or an object—anything in sight.
At that moment, flames erupted across Ray’s entire body.
—
—
“Do you think he’s okay…?”
The red-haired girl murmured anxiously.
“He’ll be fine. If another fight had started, we would’ve heard something by now.”
The bespectacled boy reassured her, though the worry in his eyes betrayed his calm tone.
“Still, what if something happened inside…?”
“You said there was a magic circle, right? Ray asked you to modify it. He must’ve won. Let’s just wait a little longer.”
Taking a deep breath, the boy continued.
“Ray doesn’t make sloppy plans.”
The girl’s unease lessened slightly at his words.
Veronica and Philip remained hidden among the piles of scrap metal, their eyes fixed on the abandoned factory.
It was 2:29:21 PM.
Since Ray had re-entered the factory, there had been no sign of movement.
Veronica recalled Ray’s words two days earlier.
“I’m going to fight someone here.”
“I’ll use the magic circle.”
“There’s a chance I might die.”
Though she had anticipated something dangerous, hearing it directly had left her feeling faint.
Her heart pounded with worry.
Unable to stay put, she had sought out the street kids from the hotel, eventually finding Philip.
“You’re Philip, right? The one who sent kids to the northern factory. Please help me. Ray might be in danger.”
Tearfully, she explained the situation.
Philip had been shocked.
He had suspected Ray was planning something risky when he requested a welder, but he hadn’t expected it to put Ray in such peril.
“When’s the fight?”
“In two days.”
Philip had canceled all his plans for the day of the fight. He had gathered Kedrick, Ray’s subordinates, and a few trusted street kids to come to the factory.
“Do you think the boss is okay?”
“Yeah. He’s so strong—there’s no way he lost.”
Philip looked around.
Including Veronica and himself, there were ten of them in total.
They had no intention of interfering. They didn’t want to disrupt Ray’s plans, nor did they think they could be much help to a mage like him.
But in case of an emergency, they hoped to provide some small assistance—like carrying an injured Ray to the hotel’s infirmary.
“It’ll be okay. It’s Ray. He’ll be out soon, so let’s just wait a little longer.”
“…Alright.”
Veronica nodded, though the white sun in her bowl didn’t fade.
And then, it happened.
*Creeeeak—*
The factory door, which had seemed like it would never open, finally moved. Someone emerged.
