"Fire!"
BOOM!
A cannonball roared from the warship bearing the sigil of a golden lion, crashing into the flagship of the magic guild marked with a golden star.
"We're under attack, Master!" shouted one of the guild members to a man with golden hair, clad in a white robe trimmed with blue.
This man was Rajendra, the newly crowned leader of the Gild Dwan Magic Guild, who had just declared war on the World Government.
Rajendra rose from his chair and peered through a small window in the command room, raising his spyglass.
Through the lens, he saw three massive warships of the World Government cutting through the waves.
"Return fire with the Magic Cannons," he ordered, calm yet commanding.
The gunners turned heavy cranks, bringing the magic cannon barrels into position.
A beautiful woman with flowing green hair entered the artillery room. She placed her hands on the cannon, channeling her mana into it, and—
BOOM!
A brilliant blue beam burst from the cannon's mouth, piercing through the side of one of the enemy ships and tearing it apart.
The blast shredded the hull and hurled several magic knights overboard like rag dolls.
"You bastard, Rajendra!" roared a burly man with a blond beard, clad in black armor lined with red, standing on the deck of the damaged ship.
This was David Scarlet, the Holy General of the Magic Knights. Veins bulged at his neck as fury surged through him.
"Full speed ahead! Today, I will have Rajendra's head!"
The magic knights unfurled massive sails infused with mana. The warships lurched forward, closing the gap.
"Master, what should we do now?" asked a silver-armored swordmage beside Rajendra, watching his commander through the spyglass.
"Reel in the sails. We wait for them," Rajendra replied coolly.
The swordmage smirked faintly. "You really do enjoy playing with your prey."
"General! They've stopped!" a lookout called down from the crow's nest.
David clenched his fist so tight his gauntlet creaked. "Damn you, Rajendra! Mock me all you like — I, David Scarlet, Holy General of the Magic Knights, swear I will sever your head myself!"
Rajendra stepped out onto the deck, turning to a nearby guild member. "Prepare for close combat."
He glanced at the swordmage beside him, who looked tense. Rajendra patted his shoulder.
"Silver, don't lose your nerve against those noble bastards. We'll win this."
"Knights! Gather mana at your feet — we'll walk the sea and crush that insolent Rajendra!" David bellowed at his troops.
The magic knights leapt from the ships, landing on the ocean's surface. They did not swim — with mana coursing through their feet, they walked across the waves as if the sea itself were solid ground. This was basic magic, known to all mages.
Rajendra and his guild members descended from their ship to meet them.
"Three ships full of a hundred magic knights against our thirty — isn't this a bit excessive, Master?" the green-haired mage asked Rajendra with a wry smile.
"They're just pampered nobles blinded by their own lies. We'll crush them, Syarla."
"I love your confidence, Master."
David and his knights charged across the waves. Overhead, powerful great mages soared through the sky, conjuring spears of ice that rained down like needles.
But Syarla, the strongest mage of Gild Dwan, raised her shimmering shield magic, blocking every strike with a wave of her hand.
Other mages from the guild took to the skies as well, clashing midair in bursts of blazing mana. On the sea's surface, both sides ran at each other — then collided.
The brutal battle that followed would be remembered as one of the bloodiest ever fought against the World Government.
And Rajendra and his guild won.
Their victory ignited a war that would rage for decades. Rajendra reclaimed cities one by one, freeing them from the nobles' grasp and planting new ideals in every liberated land.
For thirty long years, Rajendra led his guild across the world's oceans, toppling the World Government piece by piece.
Yet in the end, fate struck. Age and illness caught up with him.
Before he died, Rajendra left behind his final testament to the world.
"INANIS — the magic that brought the World Government to its knees. I hid it at the edge of the world. Whoever finds it, claim it, and become the victor."
Rajendra's dying words spread like wildfire. The news stirred every mage's heart.
INANIS was no ordinary magic — it was the power that made Rajendra unstoppable, a living god among sorcerers.
INANIS is power.
INANIS is wealth.
INANIS is peace.
INANIS is a threat.
A new age was born. Mages across the seas formed hundreds of magic guilds, setting sail in search of INANIS — each hoping to become the greatest guild the world had ever seen, just as Gild Dwan once was.
Will they succeed? Will INANIS be found?
This story is only just beginning.