༺ Mages of the Tower (6) ༻
『Northwest of Merkarva. In a small shed of a village called Lamet is one of the markers of the witch.』
There were a very few people who knew about the locations of the markers that Josephine Clara the Dimensional Witch had placed all over the world for long-distance teleportations.
The first one was Josephine herself.
The second was her benefactor and the queen who was exiled into paradise, Erin Danua.
And lastly, there was also Tates Valtazar.
He had played a big role 80 years ago in crushing the Tower of Mages alongside Josephine and Erin Danua. As a former comrade, it was nothing strange for him to be aware of the locations of Josehpine’s markers.
“We’re here.”
Elder Admelech, the leader of the Red Cult, arrived at an abandoned shed along with ten of his disciples. It was a small abandoned cathedral that looked more like a shed, covered in a bunch of weeds due to lack of maintenance. Despite being run down, it was still here because of the owner’s strong rejection against redevelopment.
According to Lord Adelene, it was said that inside the chimney of this old shed was the hidden marker.
“We have found it, Master!”
His disciples brought the marker, and Admelech was going to use this marker to summon Josephine.
“We will now engrave the magic circle of sealing.”
Ten mages along with Admelech started engraving a magic circle onto the shed. The magic circle created in collaboration of 10 mages and an elder, meant it was strong enough to restrict even the Dimensional Witch. She might be able to resist if this was during a fight when she was vigilant but that was certainly not going to be the case.
Before long… the magic circle was complete and Admelech exploded a condensed ball of mana inside the rune-carved marker.
“Chairman…!”
In the next instant, the dimension cracked open as a young, blonde-haired beauty appeared from the cracks. She seemed to have hurried here to help the only one who should be aware of this marker.
“Y, you are…?!”
But what she found instead were 10 red mages. As soon as they saw Josephine, they immediately activated the magic circle.
– Hwaruruk!
Devilish flames started to surround her in the blink of an eye. Josephine shot out her own mana to stop the flames from approaching her but she nevertheless ended up being imprisoned inside the fiery prison.
“E, Elder Admelech! What do you think you are doing?!”
“Huhu. You are too naive, witch.”
Admelech clicked his tongue while looking at Josephine who was locked inside flames.
“I was looking forward to a battle against the historical mage but what a shame.”
“You…! How are you going to take responsibility for this?”
“Hmph! There’s no need. The Tower will no longer be confined by the worthless rules of the world!”
“What do you mean?”
“Sacrifices are a must for the progress of the great discipline of magic! You say we have to respect the lowly organisms that cannot even learn magic? Protect them? Since when has human rights and ethics been a part of the question when researching the great path of magic?!”
Admelech constantly erupted in fury. Considering his fiery temperament, it was actually commendable that he had been able to hold himself back until now.
The end of the Witch Hunt.
The end of the Tower’s monopoly over magic education.
Due to the appearance of the guardian academy and a strong shift of centralization, the Tower of Mages had their strength and authority taken away from them time after time.
Besides, demi-humans who used to be treated as monsters, started being treated like humans with human rights.
“The new world shall dawn on us all! The filthy peasants and livestock shall be devoured, and only the chosen ones will be allowed onto the Ark, setting off for the new world!”
“You have gone crazy…”
80 years.
Roughly 80 years had gone by since the Tower of Mages had been half-demolished, and yet even now, the Tower was trying to regain their monopoly, overwhelming authority, and rights that used to allow them to carry out heinous acts.
After being forced to see their horrendous true form again, Josephine was once again appalled by how selfish and self-centered of a group they were.
How could they actually plan to do something so horrible just because of some outdated ideologies?
“It is a shame that I cannot be a part of this historical event but… if it is me, I shall be able to maintain this seal for 3 days.”
3 days.
That would be more than enough time for the other group to kill Chairman Eriu on his way back after a meeting with the Guardian Alliance, and kidnap the Unique Grade vampire roaming around the campus.
“It won’t take 3 days. Maybe 3 minutes at best.”
““……!!””
That was when a figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the shed.
The light created by the prison of flames brightened up the entrance and the person standing in front of it, revealing the wild countenance and smile on his face.
Whether he was an enemy here to interfere with their plans or a simple passerby who dropped by to see what was happening did not matter. This place was now a land belonging to the Tower of Mages.
❰Flame Dog❱
Admelech showered his fiery temperament at the one who suddenly intervened in their plan.
The medium-grade spell of a hound carrying heat and impact started racing across the floor, ready to swallow him at any given moment. The rampaging flames were looking like they would mercilessly burn him down but…
“What…!?”
The dog made of flames that were supposed to burn his skin down started being sucked into him. Seeing something that incomprehensible happen right before their eyes, the mages of the Tower stepped back in fright.
“Kill him! Kill that guy!”
Urged by his instincts that warned him of the danger, the old man immediately let out a shout. In response, the ten mages chanted their spells and summoned a merciless torrent of fire that started burning down the shed.
“You know, even higher grade mages are useless when they’re against a bad opponent.”
Along with a leisurely comment, the man started absorbing the scorching stream of flames.
“I, impossible!”
Admelech could not hide the shock on his face. It would have made sense if he had blocked the attack but what happened then wasn’t at the level of blocking.
Was that complete resistance? No, it was even more than that – it was like an authority that reigned over fire itself.
How could there be such an overpowered ability?!
“I don’t care if you’re an elder or not. You can’t beat me as long as you use fire.”
Divinity of the Sun.
Airgetlam approached them, dispersing onto them the heat of the sun.
………
……
…
“The power of the Sun is certainly quite amazing.”
Josephine said in awe, while looking at the mages on the ground.
The Sun, Claiomh Solais.
One of the 4 great treasures of Danaans, and the cherished treasure of the Great Airgetlam. Korin had used only a small portion of that strength and yet the mages of the Tower weren’t able to beat him. In fact, it was hard to even call that a fight.
“It’s only because the Sun is a complete counter to the Red Cult. I won’t be able to beat the other Elders without the sun being high up in the air at least.”
“…”
He sounded nonchalant, but in turn that meant that he was able to defeat the 9 elders of the Tower of Mages whenever he so desired as long as the sun was up. Even Josephine herself would have to consume a lot of mana to beat an elder and yet…
“It’s not only the Red Cult. The Sun… has the power to cleanse evil so…”
The Black Cult, which tended to make use of undeads of chimeras won’t be a match for him either.
“You knew about this incident with the Tower, and were preparing for it from the start, weren’t you?”
How was that even possible? It was as if he could foresee the future. Josephine had a lot of doubts and questions but swallowed them without bothering to voice them out loud.
『I will save the world.』
He had an aspiration too big for normal people to shoulder. Considering how he had voluntarily put that task on his shoulders, it was safe to say that everything he did was for that purpose and for that purpose alone.
“Student Korin. If our assumptions are right, then the next target would be…”
“It would be Senior Marie. I have put enough measures there.”
“It would be wonderful if everything went according to plan.”
“…It will. I will save everyone.”
His last words sounded like a reminder for himself.
****
“Ren! Rennn! Wake uppp!”
“Uhum… Oraboni. One more minute…”
“We have a prac lesson today~! Bro said we have to wake up early, remember?”
“Ugh…”
Due to Ron rocking her body back and forth, Ren had to wake up while rubbing her eyes.
“What time… is it?”
“Eight o’clock…!”
“Eight… o’clock… Aht!!”
Ren quickly woke up in fright. They were going to be late at this rate. The girl ran around in a hurry while saying whatever that popped up in her mind to her younger twin brother.
“Why didn’t you wake me up earlierrrr…!”
“I just woke up!”
She dashed straight to the bathroom. There were a bunch of things to do – she had to brush her teeth, take a shower, change her clothes, take the bag, and run to the venue.
“Did you wash your face?!”
“Not yet!”
“Then hurry up!”
“Nn!”
The reason why the wolf siblings were in so much of a hurry was because it was their prac lesson today.
“Hmm… Is everyone here?”
At the front entrance of the Academy, Professor Orgen Rentree who was in charge of the freshmen this year, showed off his dense muscles while looking through the assembly of students.
“Ren and Ron aren’t here yet!”
One of the students alerted the professor about the absence of their peers. When Orgen was right about to turn to his watch…
“We are hereeee!”
“So sorrryyyyyy!”
The wolf siblings screamed from a distance while sprinting as fast as they could. They were in so much hurry that they had even half-beastified themselves and were running on all fours.
“You are late, Student Ren! Student Ron!”
“S, sorry sir!”
“Be more mindful next time. A good guardian is not only skilled but they also need to be punctual.”
“Yes sir!”
Orgen did not feel like scolding the siblings, who were considerably smaller than their peers. Beastmen’s physical growth depended on their mental development and the fact that they were that small, meant that their mental ages were just that young.
Professor Orgen was someone who was relatively generous to children.
“Now, let us depart! A reminder: the mission we have on our hands is the annihilation of the demonic beasts that have nested themselves on the western mountain range! Off you go to the magic carriage station!”
“Haaa…”
Heaving a sigh of relief that they weren’t scolded that much for being late, Ren and Ron started walking after their peers from the back.
“Sniff sniff… Hnn?”
Ron sniffed and looked around. Seeing that, Ren asked him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nn… I thought I smelled something strange.”
“Something strange?”
“Yeah… the smell of rotten corpses. It’s faint but…”
“You dummy. Why would there be corpses in the Academy?”
“Right?”
What the siblings did not know was that there were eyes looking at them from a distance.
****
“Thank you, Young Miss!”
“It’s nothing. That wasn’t anything difficult.”
On the official opening day of ❰Dunareff Fresh Produce❱, Marie visited the shop as the oldest daughter of the family.
“Huu…”
Trying her best to hide the look of nervousness on her face, Marie calmly walked towards the Academy.
The mages of the Tower had two goals in this visit. One was the murder of Chairman Eriu Casarr and the other was the abduction of Marie Dunareff.
There were some problems with the plan due to the unexpected actions of Princess Miruam, but Korin immediately came up with another plan.
After sending the chairman outside using the excuse of external affairs, they waited until the enemy started with Josephine Clara sealing plan. At the same time, they sent Marie Dunareff outside to lure them into attacking her.
‘Hua Ran… Alicia…’
Of course, there were enough safety measures put in place.
Her way back to the Academy was escorted by a bunch of elites and mages like Hua Ran, Professor Haman Welsch and Professor Lulara Mars waiting in the distance for the potential attack from the Tower.
Great Golden Mage, Adelene was one of the very few people who could suppress a Unique Grade vampire. However, it was certain that even Adelene wouldn’t be able to defeat the combination of the Academy’s elites.
‘…Clock Tower. It won’t be here. There are too many eyes.’
From a crowded area to less crowded places, Marie intentionally moved to areas that were easier to be attacked at. Visiting a shady fortune teller at the alleyway, she received love advice and walked through the platform of unmanned magic carriages.
Those were the best places to attack at and yet there were no signs of movement from the mages.
‘Are they being that prudent?’
She walked past the unmanned magic carriage platforms. This was the best place for them to attack and yet there was no one.
On the way from the city to the Academy, she intentionally used the road that was more common for magic carriages to travel in, instead of using the road for people.
‘It has to be here…!’
This was the last place for them to attack. The road for carriages had dense trees on the sides of the road and was the perfect spot for them to capture her and leave the city while hiding from the eyes of the Academy.
‘Doggo…!’
Marie called her familiar, who growled in response from her shadows in preparation for the attack. The demonic dog howling in her shadows was fully prepared to rip the attacker into pieces.
Before long, there were 100 feet left to the entrance. She could now see guards checking the visitors of the Academy.
70 feet until the main entrance. She spotted some students quarreling with the guards. It seemed that they had been caught out after sneaking out of the Academy without a valid pass.
50 feet until the entrance. This was dangerous. It seemed that the attackers were trying to involve the nearby students and guards.
30 feet left until the main entrance.
When were they going to attack?
10 feet until the entrance.
?????
Soon, she arrived at the Academy.
“………Huh?”
Until the very end, there was not a single mage attacking Marie.
****
“Huah…! Ren! Look! I caught a massive boar!”
“Hmph…! I got a bigger one, see?”
In the mountain where they had come for the prac lesson, Ren and Ron were hunting the Fang Boars inhabiting the western mountain ranges under the guidance of Professor Orgen.
“By the way, Ron. Isn’t this strange?”
“What is?”
“They said there’s supposed to be a lot of them here because they’re in their mating season, right? So much so that Professor Deina bought a bunch of them for an experiment last year.”
“I think so?”
“So why are there so few of them?”
The mountains were quiet. From what they heard beforehand, there were supposed to be so many Fang Boars in this time of the year because of their breeding season, and there were supposed to be enough boars to flock the entire mountain from the foot, and yet even after climbing half way up the mountain, all they saw were a few of them.
“Huah…! You’re right! Maybe they were over-exaggerating it to scare us.”
“There’s no way…”
That was when a thick odor rode the wind into their noses. The wolf siblings, due to having a sensitive sense of smell, were able to notice the identity of the smell in an instant.
“Rotten… meat?”
It was the smell of rotten flesh that threatened to pierce through the nose, which they had gotten used to during their life at the slums. The moment they noticed what that smell was…
– Kuruk!
– Kurahk!
The death throes of a pig echoed across and the ground shook as if there was an earthquake. The freshmen students who had been in the middle of the prac lesson, turned their eyes to the top of the mountain in search for the origin of the sound.
“Uhh…”
“What the hell is that?”
At the end of their gazes were a bunch of… indescribably horrendous boars with torn-apart flesh, dangling eyeballs and smushed fangs.
A torrent of corpses was flooding down the mountain at the students.
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