Episode 316
“Huh? Sorry. That’s something I can’t tell you.”
The knight guarding the entrance to the villa politely refused to answer the princess’s sudden question.
‘Why are you asking about superhumans? A superhuman who usually lives away from His Majesty?’
Isn’t this the first suspicious question I’ve heard?
I will report to Captain Viktor as soon as he comes for his shift.
The knight thought so and smiled on the outside.
but.
“Can I ask you this?”
The moment when light gray magic invisible to his eyes flows into his eyes.
The knight’s eyes went blank and he blurted out everything he knew without even realizing it.
“Duke and Stormblade are not usually in the capital. And if there is someone in the capital who is away from His Majesty, there is Clayton. He is doing important research and has not been coming out of the Magic Tower these days.”
“Oh, I see. Do you know any other superhumans? Except for those mentioned and His Majesty the Sword Master.”
“…They are the only superhumans in our kingdom.”
The princess nodded with a stern expression as she looked at the knight tilting his head with blank eyes.
‘It’s a secret even inside. McLane There’s definitely more to it.’
After gathering her thoughts, Luisa looked at the article again and smiled.
“Where is that Clayton?”
“It’s a magic tower. It rises high to the east of the royal palace.”
“I see. But can I go there?”
“Now, no one except Your Majesty is allowed to enter.”
That’s better.
“Thank you. Oh, please forget all my questions today.”
A wink with a grin is the magic trigger.
At that moment, the gun returned to the driver’s blank eyes again.
“Ah, princess. Hello.”
The knight greeted the suddenly appearing princess politely as if he had just seen her.
“Where can I take you?”
“Oh no. I just came out to get some air.”
“Ah yes.”
Wind not in the garden but at the entrance to the villa?
Although her expression was clearly read as suspicious, Luisa smiled and turned around.
And the driver didn’t notice that as soon as she turned around, her face changed to a cruel look.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“It’s pointless to hide it any more anyway.”
In Luisa’s hand as she said that, she held a gray stone the size of her fist.
The moment she put pressure on her hand, the stone broke with a crunching sound and emitted blue light.
At the same time, a gray magical power that only those with the same level of power could feel began to overflow from her heart.
The sealing magic contained in the highest grade magic stone has been released.
Ugh.
“Elder. I understand you are not permitted.”
Luisa furrowed her eyebrows at the words of Jun, the escort driver.
Helper and subordinate. However, if he acts against the tower owner’s orders, this loyal subordinate will become a whistleblower.
When I realized that fact, the Master’s command naturally came to mind again.
An order that cruelly trampled on his pride.
– Permission is not permitted. It may take some time, but there is a sure way, so leave it to another elder.
“…I follow orders. But when I go, I have to leave a gift behind.”
It doesn’t matter whether the magic was discovered or whether it was naturally released by the ‘force of fate’. The fact that I was not only deceived, but actually deceived, left a huge scar on my self-esteem.
I couldn’t just back away.
“There is no need to step forward yourself. There are probably many simpler ways.”
“I’m just saying, let’s be clear.”
As Jun said, there were endless ways for a Soul Wizard who had reached the level of a magician to use humans to cause trouble. To give a simple example, even if he were to trick the guards of the villa into attacking him, an international conflict would immediately break out.
but.
“A simple way to cause a big uproar would be to draw too much attention to my identity. If some other incident is added, I could end up not being able to move from here.”
However, he was not satisfied with minor conflicts, such as clashes between guard knights or attacks on the king by knights or servants who could not go near the king.
Above all, since the tower’s magic was not omnipotent, its side effects had to be taken into consideration.
A brainwashed person’s reduced intelligence is just one of many side effects, so it was best to avoid anything that could get them caught as much as possible.
“But wouldn’t it be too dangerous?”
“I?”
Luisa’s retort contained infinite pride in herself.
Throughout TOP’s history, there were only a handful of people who reached the level of 6th Circle Expert before they turned 30.
There is good reason for that pride. And that made it even more difficult to bear the wounded pride.
“Can someone who reached the level of a mage just a few years ago and well over 50 be able to handle me?”
There is no way that an attribute wizard, who is probably only a 6th circle beginner, can handle a much superior wizard, even a soul wizard who specializes in dealing with humans.
That was the pride and common sense of those who learned the magic of the Kassel Magic Tower.
“That’s true, but…”
“The only mage in the kingdom attacks key figures in the royal palace. Whether he succeeds or not, don’t you think it’ll be a pretty interesting picture?”
“Didn’t you say that there is someone in the palace who can destroy our magic? If it is that mage…”
As Jun, he is not qualified to know information about the ‘one who changes fate’. However, given the nature of the mission, they gave me a vague explanation that there was such a person, so I could understand why they thought that way.
“No, not him.”
Jun could not say anything more in response to Luisa’s assertion.
“Even in the worst case, my identity will not be exposed, so you don’t have to worry.”
With those words, Luisa’s entire body became blurry like a gray fog and then disappeared as if melting into thin air.
and.
– Did you forget? Who am I?
All I could hear was a faint voice, as if I heard it in a dream.
A presence that has completely disappeared.
June knew very well that it wasn’t that Luisa had actually disappeared, but that her vision and mind had become confused.
The tower’s arcane magic was created while avoiding the imperial pursuit.
Its utility was as perfect as its gruesome history, and its caster was a magician.
‘Unless you’re a monster that can see mana, you’ll never find that person.’
And such monsters only existed in legends.
Jun thought that way and relieved his uneasy feeling.
* * *
“Take it easy, Master.”
“No. I already promised your Majesty. I will show you the results within this month. There is no time to rest.”
Victoria sighed softly, looking at her teacher with bloodshot eyes.
“Then I’ll bring you something to eat, so please have some.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Even as he says that, he can’t take his eyes off the elaborately crafted magic circle.
Victoria was not without pride in the results she had contributed to, but she was just worried that her teacher seemed to be pushing too hard.
Did you feel those gazes?
“It’s because I haven’t done much compared to you. Shouldn’t I at least work hard to stand in front of His Majesty?”
The teacher, who did not look away from the magic circle, said a joke.
Victoria, who read the stubbornness in those words, just sighed again.
‘I need to provide you with a meal on time.’
As Victoria turned around, her steps gradually began to get faster.
‘hmm?’
Victoria, who was quickly walking to the lower level of the tower, suddenly felt a strange feeling in a corner of the passage.
No, I saw it.
‘Gray fog…?’
The stairs of the tower lead to a single path. In a corner of the road leading downstairs, there was a gray foreign substance that was cloudy like fog.
It will definitely not be a natural fog.
As I thought about that and raised my mana, it seemed even more clear.
‘Mana? No, this one is similar, but a little different. Could it be magic…?’
The moment I had that thought, my brisk steps naturally had no choice but to slow down.
As I gradually got closer to the unidentifiable gray fog, I soon realized that there was something inside it.
‘person…!?’
As I stared into the gray fog, I saw something that looked like a human shadow. Even with eyes filled with mana, it could only be seen as a pale shadow, but it was clearly human.
This is a limitation caused by the inability to clearly see through magical power that is not mana yet.
‘A mage?’
And the moment when you feel like the head is pointing towards you.
Victoria naturally looked away with a grave face, as if looking somewhere else.
Of course, contrary to her innocent expression, her mind was filled with shock.
‘It’s an intruder!’
That’s a wizard-level intruder.
The moment I realized it, I felt like I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.
Should I go back and tell my teacher?
no. I don’t know what will happen if I suddenly turn around.
In just a few seconds, all kinds of thoughts passed through her mind, but fortunately, her steps were not awkward and she came closer to the shadow.
And in that brief moment, she made up her mind.
This is ‘our’ magic tower.
The perfect space for wizards to demonstrate combat power beyond their own limits.
The moment Victoria arrives at the stairs just above the shadow.
The mana of the circle vibrated secretly but fiercely, and was rearranged in a complex manner according to her will.
Ugh.
Soon, part of the stone staircase became a large window, piercing the shadow.
Ugh.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
At the same time, she knew.
That the attack failed.
– You noticed…?
The fog dispersing along with a voice that sounds dreamy.
There was nothing inside it.
But it was also visible.
Before I knew it, gray magical power was gathering in the hand of the shadow that had ascended the stairs above me.
And where that magic is headed.
Damn it.
Rumble.
With a feeling as if the space was breaking, a dark red thorn vine sprouted from where Victoria was standing.
Six thorny vines, moving viciously like snakes, stretched out towards her like lightning.
“Where!”
With Victoria’s shout, the wall stood up in the shape of a human being.
A single golem that concentrates its power to deal with high-level strongmen in a narrow space.
The best magic she could unleash now reliably blocked the thorns.
“Tie them up!”
With a loud roar echoing down the stairs, the torn walls shrunk all at once, casting shadows from all directions.
“Intruder! You won’t escape easily!”
The heart circle rotated furiously, pressuring the enemy with maximum power.
Rumbling.
thud. thud.
Before she knew it, her golem had torn off the entire black thorn vine and added its might to the pile of dirt.
Grrrgggggg.
but.
Quaaaaaaaaaaa!
With an ear-piercing explosion, the walls that had been squeezing the enemy collapsed and even the golem was thrown away.
Rumbling.
– That’s ridiculous.
A strange voice that rings loudly.
The cold moonlight pouring in between the collapsed walls illuminated the enemy.
Victoria soon saw the enemy’s appearance and moaned involuntarily.
A slim figure with two horns growing from the forehead and curved towards the top of the head.
Even though she has a slender body, she has granite-grey skin that makes her look strong.
And even the bat’s wings spread out behind its back larger than its body.
The sight of the enemy staring at her, with eyes glowing like burning black flames, was exactly the same as that of a monster she had only heard about in folk tales.
“devil?”
As if in response to those words, the black fog rising from the enemy’s hand instantly covered Victoria’s surroundings.
