"...”
Skaya, who was examining the wall of darkness, slowly lifted her head. The pitch-black wall rose to a towering height, and it was impossible to see the top even if she strained her neck to the fullest.
"How can we get past it?"
In response to Son Chae-Won's question, Skaya shook her head slowly.
"It's impossible."
As soon as she touched it, she knew for sure. This was the same type of magic as the Blackfield she had investigated on the Frontier, on the second floor.
‘That means…’
Her gaze turned serious. It was likely that… the person who had created this wall was the first archmage.
"What a headache."
The first archmage was also the first Black Tower Master. In other words, the creator of this wall was also the creator of the Chaos magic that she was currently learning.
‘I know best how amazing of a mage he is.’
She knew that well because she followed his footsteps through various spell books and records. And now, this formidable being had appeared as an enemy.
Skaya slowly closed her eyes.
"Eye in the Sky."
As soon as she closed her eyes, a vast landscape unfolded before her. It was the result of looking at the world through the magic satellite network she had spread across the entire northern sky—the Eye in the Sky.
‘...As expected.’
At the northern edge, a long procession could be seen from the south.
‘An army of Overminds.’
The army’s purpose was not merely to capture them, but to kill them. There were also several vehicles that didn't seem to belong on a battlefield near the center of the formation.
‘The ones riding inside are probably…’
Just as she was thinking that far…
"Ah!"
A dizzying pain surged through her head, and her vision went black.
"H-hey! Are you okay?"
"Skaya, are you alright?"
Rahmadat and Mio asked her with concern.
She pressed her throbbing forehead and replied, "Ugh... The Eye in the Sky has been destroyed."
It wasn't just the satellite that she had connected to earlier. She could sense that all the Eye in the Sky pieces scattered in the sky were being shot down.
"You old fart..."
Skaya gritted her teeth.
"Queen!"
"U-uh, yes?" Startled by the sudden call, Frost pointed to her small face with her finger. "You called for me?"
"Yep." Her face showed a more serious expression than ever before. "Queen, let's work together on something."
***
"Haha." The Archmage, Filgrim Gaunessia, laughed genially. He looked at his disciples who were riding in the same car as him. "Did you feel it?"
"Yes?"
"What are you referring to..."
"Tsk, tsk. Never mind."
Filgrim clicked his tongue at his dim-witted disciples. It would be a cold day in Hell before they figured out what had been installed in the high skies.
‘They use interesting magic.’
From flight magic to invisibility and expanding the field of view, a wide range of spells were scattered throughout the sky. It was probably surveillance magic installed to detect the approaching forces.
‘An adept user of the same magic as me.’
Filgrim smiled unconsciously. It had been a while since he felt anticipation.
"I want to meet them soon."
His wish was soon fulfilled.
"Filgrim-nim."
"What's the matter?"
The commander who was at the forefront approached in a vehicle and saluted.
"There is a castle up front."
"Hmm? Already?"
Surprised, Filgrim lowered the window and leaned out. Just as the commander said, a massive ice castle was adorning the field right ahead of them.
"..."
It didn't make sense. This wasn't a favorable location for the enemy to occupy.
‘I thought we would encounter their castle in the snowy wilderness farther north.’
Filgrim’s eyes narrowed as he examined the castle. The intricately constructed and sturdy ice castle was not something that could be built in a haste.
"Wait a moment, is there something strange with my eyes? It looks like the castle gates... are open?"
"Yes." The commander nodded with an awkward expression. "The gates in all four directions, north, south, east, and west, are wide open. It looks as if they are welcoming us. And that is not all."
White flags were stuck all over the castle walls, and cheerful singing could be heard from inside the castle.
"What is this? A festival?"
"I-I am not sure..."
"Hmm."
If he didn't know, he could find out for himself. Filgrim lightly produced some magic. In the form of a bird, his aura swiftly crossed the snowy field and reached the castle.
"Hmm."
However, as soon as it approached the castle walls, the bird disappeared like smoke.
‘They don't want to show me the inside, huh?’
He wanted to figure out if there were humans inside, and if so, how many. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be possible.
"How troublesome."
It was undoubtedly a trap, but it was also the kind of situation where they could not retreat. Filgrim pondered for a moment.
"Send twenty soldiers."
"Understood."
The commander immediately dispatched twenty soldiers who had excellent mobility. In case something went wrong, they had to be able to escape and report.
"..."
Thirty minutes passed as the soldiers cautiously entered the inner castle. Although there was no noise from the inside, the soldiers did not return.
Filgrim spoke up.
"Hmm. That should be enough."
"Yes?"
"You may not have noticed, but I felt the distinctive energy waves of magic."
It was an energy that he hadn't felt in a thousand years, like an old friend.
"I'm certain there are people inside."
"Does that mean..."
"We can't easily conquer this castle like we did before, just by testing the waters." Filgrim gave a firm order. "Surround the castle. Attack from all sides."
Even if they had prepared some kind of trap, there was no reason for them to lose if they approached conventionally. After all, the ten-thousand-strong imperial army was an existence that no one could challenge.
"The encirclement is complete. Now, not even a rat will be able to get through the siege.”
Receiving the report, Filgrim nodded.
“Then, enter through all the gates and kill the enemy on sight."
"Understood."
At first glance, it seemed like a simple tactic, to the point that it would have seemed boring to a strategist. But precisely because of that, there was no room for variables to intervene. For those who held the initiative on the battlefield, it was an essential factor.
‘Hmm. Perhaps I overestimated the humans?’
He recalled the assault on Gulat and thought they were not an opponent to be taken lightly. However, the sight they were showing now was nothing short of disappointing.
"F-Filgrim-nim!"
A little tired of hearing the commander’s voice, Filgrim retorted irritably.
"What now?"
"Inside…inside, it’s empty. Only the corpses of the soldiers we sent earlier were left there."
"... What?"
Stunned by the unexpected report, Filgrim's face went blank. That meant…the enemy had abandoned the castle and fled?
‘Could it be that the fluctuation of magic power I felt earlier was from large-scale teleportation?’
Haha.
A hollow laugh echoed from Filgrim as he buried his back in the backrest.
"Foolish... So, it means they intend to face us in the harsh northern blizzard."
It was pathetic. Incredibly pathetic. To think they chose to abandon this castle and run away only to confront his army in the brutal blizzard of the north. Humans needed to fight with the castle, whether it meant living or dying. Only in that way could one more Overmind be turned into a comrade on the path to the afterlife.
‘It may take a little longer... but it's a fortunate turn of events for us.’
Tracking down those who escaped from the encirclement was much easier than sieging a castle full of people ready to defend it. Filgrim flicked his wrist as if chasing away a fly.
"Let's switch to pursuit formation and chase their main force."
"Understood. What about you, Filgrim-nim?"
"Hmm..."
He pondered for a moment. In his mind, the war had already ended. There were too many favorable conditions for his side.
‘Those Overminds who have only gathered the best genes from each race won't feel the cold, nor will it affect their activities.’
Humans were different.
‘When the temperature drops, their feeble bodies slow down, starting with a decrease in heart rate. This leads to a slowdown in blood circulation and, ultimately, weakening of the body.’
In other words, fighting humans in this snowy blizzard would ensure their victory. In a way, he had no reason to join with his main force to fight.
However, His Majesty the Emperor had personally entrusted him with the command for this particular battlefield.
"Even if the odds are one in ten thousand, we must not let our guard down. I will go with the main force."
"Excellent decision, sir."
"And thoroughly destroy the castle so that the enemy cannot return. How many personnel are currently deployed in the castle?"
"We have deployed 500 in each direction."
"Then that makes it 2,000."
Even if they were excluded, the main force still had a staggering 8,000 troops.
After finishing his calculations, Filgrim gave them his orders.
"I will assign ten disciples to you, so destroy the castle together with them. The main force will pursue the enemy."
"Understood."
The main force swiftly assumed a pursuit formation and began searching for human traces toward the north.
"Move faster!"
Whenever the commander urged them on, the speed of the main force increased. Imperial soldiers' footprints were stamped everywhere throughout the snowy white plain.
"..."
But why?
Even as he was sitting in his comfortable car, Filgrim couldn't shake off an inexplicable sense of unease.
***
"Destroy it more thoroughly! Make sure the enemy cannot use it even if they return!"
The 2,000 Overminds separated from the main force completely destroyed the castle.
The commander of a thousand-man unit looked around before muttering to himself, "Hmm, this is strange."
"What do you mean by strange?" his comrade asked.
"This castle. If you think of its size, don’t you feel that it’s rather lacking human warmth?"
"That’s obvious. Even if you light a fire, in a cold region like this, there won't be any warmth remaining once it’s put out."
"... Is that so?"
His sharp eye, which had elevated him to the position of commander of a thousand, saw something that he couldn’t quite define.
"What you’re saying makes sense, but then, why am I so uneasy? Is everything going smoothly?"
"Filgrim-nim's disciples helped us, and all the internal buildings have been demolished."
"Then we just need to break down the castle walls and join the main force."
It was an easy task. It was even to the point to think they were fortunate to be assigned to this side rather than the main force, which had to engage in bloody battles.
"But why did the humans abandon the castle and flee?"
"They're probably just foolish. They're humans, after all."
"... Is that so?"
As the commander silently nodded in agreement…
Boooom! Boom!
The wide-open castle gates closed with a loud noise. Simultaneously, an unknown energy began to condense at the center of the castle. In an instant, there was a massive amount of energy gathered there, swelling as if it would burst at any moment.
"A mage! Huron-nim!"
The commander immediately found the most skilled among the ten disciples of Filgrim that were in the castle.
"W-What is happening?"
"What else could it be? It's the enemy's trap," Huron replied calmly. "But don't worry. Our master anticipated this situation, that’s why he left us here."
"Ah... As expected of Black Tower Master Filgrim." The commander asked with a weathered face, "Then, can you handle that bomb-like thing?"
"Of course."
Huron chuckled lightly. Not only he, but also the remaining nine disciples of Filgrim had relaxed expressions.
"That's one of the chaos spells created by our master, Glorious Death."
"Glorious Death?"
"It’s a spell that turns everything within a ten-kilometer radius into dust the moment it explodes. It's named that way because whoever is in range won’t even have time to feel pain."
"T-then, is this not an extremely dangerous situation?"
"Haha. Why would we be so relaxed if it were?"
They were Filgrim's disciples. Naturally, they were also capable of handling Glorious Death. That meant, in other words, they also knew how to stop the magic bomb.
"Okay, let's quickly undo it."
The ten mages latched onto the orb that seemed to contain chaos, immediately and without hesitation. Seeing the orb shrinking under their skillful touch, the soldiers let out relieved sighs.
"Whew. Those human bastards. They prepared a terrifying trap."
"I thought it was strange. There was no reason for them to abandon the stronghold, was there?"
The commander also had a relieved expression, and his unease disappeared. A trap was most frightening when its existence was unknown. As long as it was revealed and a solution existed, there was nothing to fear.
"... Huh?"
At that moment, one of the mages who was working on the spell suddenly let out a surprised exclamation. Simultaneously, the size of the orb grew noticeably.
The anxious commander asked with a worried voice, "H-Huron-nim, why did it suddenly...?"
"Shut up! You're too agitated!"
Cold sweat dripped down Huron's face after giving him a rebuke.
'What is this?'
They had undone Glorious Death hundreds of times by this point. All the ten people here could do it with their eyes closed; it was that easy of a task. So what was that?
'The formula... is different?'
The deeper they delved, the more the sequence of the process diverged from the Glorious Death they had learned. It was much more intricate and sophisticated than that. It was as if it were a vicious sequence designed to trick whoever tampered with it into making mistakes.
'It's unbelievable.'
The formula was entirely different, but the magical energy emitted by the spell was exactly the same as Glorious Death. And that meant only one thing.
'A spell that can produce the same effect as our master's Glorious Death with an entirely different formula...'
The creator was capable of creating magic at a level that they couldn't even reach, even if the ten of them joined forces.
"Uh, uuuh... Uah!"
The panicked mages' faces filled with terror. They knew it well because they had learned it. They knew better than anyone else what would happen when this spell exploded.
‘W-we have to cancel it. We have to undo it no matter what…!’
However, the ridiculously complex formula that spread out like a sophisticated web did not allow this. Eventually, the Glorious Death left their hands and grew to a terrifying size.
"Ah, ahhhh!"
"Uaahhhh!”
The terrified mages shook their heads, shedding tears. The expanding orb, which spewed out a radiant purple light, bestowed the glorious death that its name promised upon everything on a ten-kilometer radius.
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