< 94. Shoot for the dawn (7) >
#94
Aunpila closed her eyes tightly. A miserable voice came out from between his parted lips as if announcing the death of his parent or spouse.
“…Tapju was eaten by Vajra last winter.”
“yes?”
Ronan narrowed his eyes. What kind of bullshit is this that the magic tower lord is eaten by a book? Ire’s eyes widened.
“Then this illusion too…!”
“exactly. “It’s one of Lardan’s specialties.”
Dawn Mage Tower Lord Lardan Monsilei’s second name was Hwayeong (火影). It was a title given due to the combination of powerful flames and illusionary magic that dazzled the five senses.
Aun Pillar explained that countless opponents have been reduced to ashes while wandering through the flames and illusions he created.
“…But it wasn’t this strong.”
However it was difficult to conclude that Lardan was the culprit of what happened over the past few days. He was clearly an excellent user of illusion magic.
However it was difficult even for professional illusionists to cover the entire magic tower with perception-impairing magic or fool the eyes of the 7th circle wizard Aun Fila or the high-ranking spirit Ayre. Aun Pilar twisted his lips.
“Perhaps her abilities were amplified after being swallowed by Vajra. “Who on earth broke the seal?”
“Tell me the fucking details. “What happened?”
Ronan urged him. Aun Pilar continued speaking in a heavier voice.
“The master of the tower infiltrated the forbidden book area on the day he was scheduled to leave for training. Only I who had sensed something suspicious in advance followed him. “He disarmed the defensive magic without a moment of hesitation.”
“That doesn’t make sense… Then there’s no way I didn’t know…”
“That day was the day when the full moon rose. “It was around midnight.”
“that…!”
Ayre’s face hardened. Every full moon night she transformed into her true self and briefly basked in the moonlight at the top of the Magic Tower. It was one of the few times when Ayre was absent from the library.
“The tower owner knew your secret. You probably made thorough preparations. So don’t blame yourself too much.”
What happened after that happened quickly. The tower owner immediately headed to the deepest part of the forbidden book area and woke up Vajra who had been sleeping for hundreds of years. Aun Pillar arrived late but by then the situation had already deteriorated beyond control.
“It’s too late. The tower owner failed to control Vajra and was being eaten. “All I could do was seal him away before he turned into a complete monster.”
“Damn it why did this guy named Magic Tower do something like that?”
Ronan frowned. He remembered the face of the woman who had been eaten by the book. Aun Pilar who was silent for a moment spoke as if she were sighing.
“That’s why he’s a wizard. “Because you thought you were ready.”
“preparation?”
“exactly. Get ready to understand Vajra. “I’m sure you’ve heard the legend about that cursed book.”
Ronan hesitated. The name Vajra could be found quite commonly in the sea of type that drifted for three days.
Vajra of Destruction. A rare forbidden book that deceives devours and brings about destruction to those who read it but grants almost infinite power to those who understand its contents. The author of the book was known to be none other than the devil.
“Innumerable wizards have lost their lives while challenging Vajra and other banned books. Most of the leaders of the Magic Tower were pleased with that. In fact the argument that all evil banned books should be burned is a topic that constantly comes up every time a Mabju meeting is held.”
“The top owner was an opponent.”
“exactly. He was a person who claimed that even that evil power would one day be used for the benefit of people. “I compare it to fire which is extremely dangerous but has now become indispensable.”
Tower owner Lar Dan believed that he could use the banned books which were considered just a by-product of evil intentions for good. He tried to prove it himself by obtaining the power of Vajra the leader of the banned books but failed miserably.
“I know. It was an irresponsible and reckless decision. But I could never blame him and reveal the truth. “How can we insult a pioneer who sacrificed his life to bring about the dawn of knowledge?”
“Top Mage….”
“That’s how it happened. “Please don’t forgive me for being caught up in personal feelings.”
Aun Pilar lowered his head. Ire who was about to say something comforting clamped her mouth shut. Ronan who found out the whole story twisted his lips.
‘You wanted to protect the will of the tower owner.’
The intentions were good but ultimately failed. Topju who claimed the possibility was eventually unable to handle Vajra and was eaten. It was a major incident that if known to the public would not be surprising if all banned books were destroyed. Ronan clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“It’s okay. It’s already happened. “How did the seal come to be broken?”
“I…I really have no idea. “It was not a spell that would disappear naturally even if hundreds of years had passed.”
Aunpila explained that he had cast every sealing spell he knew. Bajura who was caught off guard because he was in the middle of a predation was resealed along with the tower owner.
“In fact we made it in a state no different from how it was previously sealed. “I am confident that if I had become stronger I would have become stronger and the seal would never have weakened.”
“So it means that some idiot with nothing to do crawled into the forbidden library and unsealed it.”
“That’s the best guess at the moment. But who on earth…”
The conversation ended with Aun Pilar interrupting him. Silence fell in the narrow tall hallway. He who had been drooling finally opened his mouth.
“…I guess I should do what I can for now. Ronan you must return immediately and wait in the safe area. Miss Ayre and I will return after briefly restoring the defense system. and…”
-Tuk.
Aun Pilar was about to continue speaking. Something fell at their feet.
“hmm?”
Three people lowered their gaze at the same time. Something small and complex was sparkling beneath my feet. He picked up the item and frowned.
“…glasses?”
The glasses were unsightly and broken. Thick and thin cracks were engraved like twigs on the glass that remained only on the left side. The silver-decorated frame was messily dented. Ire tilted his head.
“huh?”
I definitely remembered seeing it somewhere. Eventually her eyes widened she clapped her hands and shouted.
“These are the glasses that La Lapista used!”
“Who is that?”
“He was the person who helped me manage the library. Of the six missing people you were the first to disappear. Why is this here…”
“…Missing person’s items?”
Ronan also felt a sense of déjà vu. He squinted his eyes and examined his glasses. There was something shiny on the frame of the glasses.
“This is…”
It didn’t take long to realize that it was a remnant of Mana. And what that means. Ronan’s mouth opened quietly.
“…Nebula Clage.”
Rustle. Suddenly I felt a noise coming from above. Ronan slowly raised his head. A man in rags was crawling around clinging to the high ceiling. Sparkling mana was seeping out of the bare skin exposed through the torn fabric.
“Ahhh…ahhh….”
Crackling. Suddenly the man who had twisted his neck at a bizarre angle looked down at the group. Ronan who made eye contact with him let out a curse.
“Fuck.”
Saliva was dripping from the open mouth. The two eyes were stained pitch black. Aun Phila and Ayre who followed suit looked up and took a vain breath.
“Is that…?”
It looked the same as the woman who was eaten by Geumseo last time. Ronan wasted no time in grabbing the hilt of his sword. Quang! As soon as La Mancha drew an arc in the air the sword was fired and hit the man directly in front of his eyes.
“Keueeek!”
A man hit in the eye by a piece of debris screamed and fell. He tried to raise himself by cracking every joint in his body but Ronan stopped him. Wow! Ronan leapt straight towards the man and struck him on the back of the head with the tip of his sword. Aire’s shout was heard from behind.
“Be careful!”
“yes?”
Suddenly the surroundings became brighter. Ronan feeling impatient turned his head. A magic circle about 1 meter wide was blinking on the wall to his right. The geometric patterns were blazing as if they were about to burst into flames at any moment.
“Damn it…!”
Ronan was just about to swing his sword. A sparrow made of flame flew past his cheek and hit its head on the magic circle.
bean! The magic circle that disintegrated into a flame was absorbed by the bird. The sparrow turned again and flew away landing on Aun Pilar’s shoulder. Ronan laughed.
“It’s pretty good.”
“There are two more.”
He said with his eyes on the ceiling. Once again a horrifying moan echoed through the hallway.
“Ah…? Ahhh…”
“It’s not even a pestilent bug.”
Ronan cursed. Not far away a man and a woman were hanging upside down from the ceiling like bats looking in this direction. Mana was blooming from the hands of the woman wearing the robe. It was clear that he had just cast a spell that almost blew his head off.
“Ah…ahhh….”
Meanwhile the man was chanting Fire Arrow magic. Six arrows made of flame formed around him ready to be fired.
Ronan who was swearing was about to show his sword again. Quad Deuk! Suddenly a tree trunk grew from the ceiling and wrapped around the torsos of the two people.
“Ugh?!”
“Keuek!”
Ronan’s eyes widened. The translucent tree trunks were shining softly as if bathed in moonlight. Aire floating in the air stood blocking Ronan’s path.
“I will do it.”
Suddenly! She gestured lightly and her tree trunk snapped. The two people tied tightly together fell to the floor. Ronan ran towards them with his sword drawn. Ayre shouted.
“You can’t kill the Lord!”
“It’s not like that so get out of the way for a moment.”
Ronan took a close look at the men and women tied to her tree. Fortunately the sparkling mana was not captured. The only one presumed to be Nebula Clazier was Lapista who was dropped at first.
‘no way.’
Suddenly the puzzle started to come together. Vajra’s seal was suddenly released. The first missing person belonging to Nebula Clage. After gathering his thoughts Ronan opened his mouth pointing to the limp Lapista.
“Aire. “They said that bastard was the first missing person.”
“yes? Ah yes. that’s right.”
“When exactly did you go missing? “Do you remember?”
“It was… around late spring. “Starting with Lapista’s disappearance strange things started happening in the tower.”
“That bastard…or Nebula Clage that blew up the garden?”
“That was about three or four months ago… around the same time.”
“Damn it.”
Goosebumps ran up my spine. All the circumstances were correct. Past experience has shown that Nebula Clage never executes only one operation at a time.
‘The self-destruction was a trick.’
The original purpose was to lift the seal on Vajra. The fact that Lapista worked at the library disproved him. The magic tower took advantage of the commotion caused by the self-destruction to break the seal and was eaten by one of the banned books.
“Damn you Pilar…”
Ronan was about to tell her what she had found out. An indescribably terrible voice echoed through the labyrinth.
【You’re sharp.】
It was the same voice I heard in the library. This time all three people seemed to have heard it and froze at the same time. Suddenly the hallway began to vibrate violently.
“What is happening?”
“Uhm…!”
I felt like I had been thrown into the heart of a giant. He couldn’t hold himself together. It was the moment when Aun Pilar was about to shout something. A stone wall suddenly rose up and separated Ronan from the two men.
“What the fuck?”
Ronan hurriedly swung his sword. Lots of cards! The sharp blade cut deep into the stone wall but it was of little use because the material was thick. He cursed as he saw the scars on the wall being repaired.
“Damn it Aun Pilar! Ayre!”
He shouted with all his might but there was no answer. The wall rose again blocking the back road leading to the entrance. Ronan ended up in complete solitary confinement. The voice rang out again.
【Come I will open the way.】
Cuckoo goong! Suddenly the wall in front of me began to push back. The endlessly expanding hallway stopped expanding only after reaching almost the length of the magic tower lying horizontally. Ronan growled.
“What kind of nonsense did you do?”
【You want to save those two bugs. Isn’t that right?】
“what?”
He asked the two men what they had done but received no answer. At that time a low flame appeared on the ceiling and began to spread rapidly toward the end of the hallway. Ronan frowned when he saw the brightened hallway.
“…Damn it.”
It was a production that felt like it had a lot of intention. There was no other way than to move forward anyway. Ronan took his steps clutching the hilt of his sword. As I walked down the haze-filled hallway a voice rang in my head.
[It’s him…! The guy who burned Langzium…!]
[Why is Vajra interested in a kid like that?]
[Come to me child! I will give you everything you want!]
Ronan immediately realized that it was a conversation between banned books. Judging by the type of voice it seemed like there were well over a hundred volumes.
“Shut up. Papers.”
[It’s not long before I can make a fuss.]
He walked along the hallway in silence. Before long an open space appeared. In a desolate room made of dark blue stone there was only one altar in the shape of a cube.
Ronan’s eyes widened as his gaze landed on the altar. Aun Phila and Ayre were chained and groaning.
“Ro Ronan…don’t come…!”
“I can’t breathe…”
His entire body was covered in blood making him look like he had been seriously injured. This was the moment when Ronan immediately kicked the ground and ran away. A geometric magic circle spread out beneath his feet.
“Nimi…!”
It was a much bigger magic than what I had seen in the hallway a moment ago. It was too late to avoid it. Ronan quickly assessed the situation and struck the floor with his blade. Quaaaaa! A vortex of flames torn into two branches covered the entire room.
But that wasn’t the end. One after another magic circles appeared in various places releasing the engraved magic. Fifteen flaming spears thicker than a tree were shot at Ronan.
‘You can do it.’
In the past I would have despaired but not now. Suaaa – A red light came up from La Mancha’s sword body along with a strange breathing sound.
Ronan calmly read his trajectory and swung his sword. Sigh! A sphere made of slashes covered his body. The flame spear that touched the sphere lost its shape and disappeared. Ronan who blocked all the attacks said as he turned his sword and held it.
“It’s not polite to invite the subject. Isn’t that right?”
Ronan who had parried all the attacks stood in his stance. The originally invisible figure was sitting on the altar with his legs crossed.
He was an old man holding a thick book in one hand and he was wearing the same red and colorful robe that Aun Pillar wore. He grinned at Ronan.
【Nice to meet you.】
“Vajra.”
