Widia Invasion (2)
Arpina frowned as she fled with hundreds of people in tow. It wasn’t the fact that they were running that troubled her. What gnawed at her was the realization that a force was already chasing them the moment they slipped out the rear of the city.
She had chosen to escape without using any other flying artifacts precisely because their movement magic was a problem. Flying as a group, she believed, was the most effective way to resist their shadow-melding travel technique. Yet the speed of their pursuers was anything but ordinary.
“Looks like they had us surrounded after all.”
“They came in thoroughly prepared,” answered the mage beside her. It was Meln, Rowen’s master and a Mystery Intermediate mage.
“Surely… the Tower Master won’t be pushed back, right?” asked Deck, another Mystery Intermediate mage.
“With Berford there as well, they should be able to hold out somehow, but…”
Arpina had sensed it from the moment the robed man first cast his spell. He had already surpassed the threshold of Mystery Beginner. “That bastard Akripa…”
“The only reason those Teneron lunatics would pull something like this is if Akripa broke through the wall and reached Mystery Intermediate,” Deck said.
“Still, if we can buy time, support from the other towers should—”
“Do you really think the other towers will help us right now?”
When Arpina asked, Deck fell silent for a moment. The recent major clash must have come to mind.
“…It is annoying that Berford caused an incident at such a bad time, but even so, the Black Tower won’t hold back their strength while the dark mages run wild like this.”
“Once we throw ourselves into the fray, it won’t be easy for them to look the other way.”
They were currently heading for Meira, the magic city closest to Widia. The plan was to take shelter there for a while, then join forces with reinforcements from the other towers to drive Teneron out of Widia. Until then, they had to prevent meaningless deaths among the academy students and their own disciples.
“But the timing of Berford’s decision is suspiciously…”
The moment Meln opened his mouth, a thunderous boom shook the defensive barrier surrounding Arpina’s group. Arpina was keeping hundreds afloat with levitation magic while Meln maintained the shield, yet the impact had been strong enough to rattle it. It meant that, aside from the pursuers behind them, high-ranking mages had been waiting along their predicted escape route.
Arpina immediately cast a detection spell and realized the attacker was at least Mystery Intermediate. And there was more than one of them.
So many high-ranking mages…?
Feeling that only she could stop them, Arpina spoke.
“Deck… take over the levitation magic.”
After handing the spell to him, she slipped out of the group.
“Go. If you delay, the ones chasing us will catch up.”
“Master!” Lia cried out in alarm from within the crowd.
Arpina smiled with easy confidence. “I’ll join you again soon, so don’t worry.”
She intended to widen the distance between the pursuing enemies and the evacuees while she had the chance. She had expected things might come to this from the beginning. It was also why she had passed the Tower Master’s belongings to Leon.
Arpina turned her body at once. Deck bit down hard and poured mana into the levitation spell. They flew for a long time. From early evening until the sky began to brighten with dawn, Deck never stopped flying. But even for a Mystery mage, sustaining levitation magic for hundreds of people had its limits.
Only after sensing that the presence of their pursuers had vanished did Deck descend onto a mountain with Meln and Juben, another Mystery Beginner mage, after a brief discussion.
“We’ll rest here for a short while before setting off again.”
When Deck gathered everyone and spoke, the group split into smaller clusters and created modest resting areas. They all knew they would have to leave again in a few hours once Deck’s mana had recovered. While the others rested without letting their guard down, Deck sat cross-legged in place.
About thirty minutes passed.
Swish.
Deck sensed a stealthy presence nearby.
An ambush?
He shot to his feet at once.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Even as he gathered his mana, Deck felt a surge of doubt.
They knew exactly where we were?
The enemies they had encountered on the way should have been occupied with Arpina. These had to be new forces. The group fell into chaos in an instant, and spells immediately rained down.
Leon blended in with the regular disciples and looked around. His heart was beating strangely fast. It had been like this ever since he saw the collapsed lodgings of the entrance residents. Anxiety and tension. A hint of excitement. His body was so keyed up it felt ready to burst forward at any moment.
At that instant—
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Deck’s urgent voice rang out. Leon instinctively realized he could no longer hide his true rank. He immediately detected Aaron’s suspicious movement and pulled a wooden sword from his subspace, launching it forward. Once his mind was made up, there was no hesitation.
Aaron had been pulling something from his chest to throw at his allies when the wooden sword pierced his throat.
“Gurk…!”
He flailed briefly before dying. The sword would absorb the core, but Leon had no intention of caring about a traitor. The same went for the dark mages. He had already resolved himself on that point.
Using basic telekinesis, he caught the black orb Aaron had been holding before it could hit the ground. The surrounding regular disciples, who had been clumsily preparing for an ambush, turned stunned gazes toward him.
Leon ignored them and turned his head. Aaron wasn’t the only one acting suspiciously. Several Widia students mixed among the group were making the exact same movements. They pulled black orbs from their chests and hurled them at the Widia students nearby.
Bang—
The orbs burst, spreading green mist. At the same time, dark mages who had been lying in wait surged out and poured spells at the Widia group. Iron chains, black spears, and dark slime rained down from all sides, encircling them.
Most of the spells were aimed at the larger group of academy students. To Leon’s eyes, the magic looked familiar. It was the same kind Forn had used. The same kind the red-haired man had used.
Boom— Boom—
“It’s an ambush!”
“Block them!”
“All Esoteric-rank mages to the front!”
The area where the Widia group had been resting turned into pandemonium in an instant. The only saving grace was that Deck had noticed quickly enough for them to respond in time.
“Salang.”
Leon immediately called upon the wind spirit from Arpina’s magic.
“Blow.”
Salang's Gale
Wind spirit summoned. Green poison mist is forcibly dispersed upward.
Winds rose from the ground where the black orbs had fallen, surging into the sky. The range wasn’t large, but nine separate zones of wind appeared simultaneously. The green mist spreading around Leon was lifted into the air the moment it expanded.
Thunderlight
Nine lightning orbs manifested. Multiple casting without incantation.
Nine spheres of electricity rose around Leon. He hurled all of them at the ones who had spread the mist.
Crackle—
“Aaaargh!”
The nine academy students struck by the electricity convulsed violently before collapsing. But there were still many traitors left, and the attacks from the encircling enemies were fierce. The battlefield was chaotic, with enemies and traitors mixed together. Some allies had already fallen to the green mist. The moment they were enveloped, their bodies began to melt. It was a lethal poison.
Poison extracted from Kito’s body…?
“Fall.”
Leon, floating slightly in the air, swept his finger downward. He hunted down the traitors one by one, striking them with lightning, while the wind spirit lifted the surrounding toxic mist into the sky. His mana was draining rapidly, but he had no time to care. The poison mist spreading inside their own formation was deadly. He had to respond as quickly as possible.
Leon took the lead in eliminating the traitors. The academy students stared at him with open mouths as he tore through the friendly lines.
“What… what is that?”
“An Esoteric mage…?”
They looked at the boy who had suddenly revealed Esoteric-rank ability with utter incomprehension. Then one of them noticed the lightning orbs orbiting Leon and shouted.
“That lightning magic… it’s the Tower Master’s spell! So he wasn’t just an ordinary personal disciple after all!”
“Even so, casting nine spells at once without incantation…?”
“Didn’t they say he was fourteen?”
No matter how they tried to make sense of it, they couldn’t. But such thoughts didn’t last long. The battle was still raging.
“Everyone, get a grip! He’s on our side! Leave the ambush to the seniors and focus on taking down the traitors first!”
While those near Leon were only now regaining their composure, some students had calmly prepared for the enemy attack from the start. Talented academy students who had already reached Esoteric rank at a young age were encouraging their comrades and responding to the ambush as best they could. The chaos gradually subsided.
The traitors were killed off one by one, and those who realized the black orbs released toxic mist calmly neutralized it with magic. Because most of the attackers were Esoteric mages, many had been hurt in the initial strike, but as time passed the tide of battle slowly turned in Widia’s favor. After all, their numbers were far greater. Even if they were only Apprentice mages, the sheer volume of spells forced the enemy to falter.
The plan to overcome the numerical disadvantage through traitors had failed.
After dealing with roughly twenty traitors, Leon immediately changed targets. The most noticeable figure was a dark mage approaching a remote area where regular disciples had gathered. Because the group there was small and isolated, they had avoided the initial ambush, but it quickly became obvious that only the weak had clustered together.
“Pierce.”
Leon hurled his wooden sword at the man. The Esoteric Beginner mage turned his head and hastily formed a barrier.
“Uh… huh?”
By the time the man let out a stupid sound, the wooden sword had already pierced the unstable barrier and driven straight through his skull.
“Leon… sir? What is…?”
The regular disciples stared at him, bodies frozen in awkward postures. There was no time to answer their questions one by one. After securing the regular disciples, Leon threw his wooden sword at another dark mage locked in combat with a friendly mage. Wherever the lines were being pushed back, he used scrolls to reinforce their defense.
The moment Leon began responding to the dark mages in earnest, the battle tilted sharply in Widia’s favor.
Deck and the three other Mystery mages were confronting a square-jawed man who appeared to be the enemy leader, along with one more opponent. The enemies’ ranks were Mystery High and Mystery Intermediate—enough for Deck’s group to block their attacks and hold out somehow.
The square-jawed man sensed the increasingly unfavorable situation and scowled.
“You got lucky.”
“…You failed your surprise attack and all you can do is flap your lips,” Deck shot back.
He had figured out that the enemy had located them through the traitors. They had been completely unaware until the attack began. Even so, they had responded successfully, so there was room to breathe.
Meln followed up after Deck. Unlike Deck, his voice carried no composure—only gravity.
“Is Berford a traitor?”
He had already dropped all honorifics when referring to Berford. It meant he was nearly certain.
“…We’re retreating.”
The square-jawed man gave no answer. He melted into his own shadow and vanished in an instant. The other mages followed suit. Deck did not pursue them. Instead, he turned to Meln.
“Berford is a traitor…? What are you saying, Meln?”
“The timing of Berford’s reckless action was too coincidental, so I had my suspicions. But to think there were actually this many traitors…”
“You were certain, then?”
“Yes.”
Deck’s expression grew equally serious.
“If that’s true, then the Tower Master…”
“…”
Meln pressed his lips tightly shut. In the heavy silence, another mage approached and reported the casualties.
“Thirty-one died in the initial ambush and from the toxic mist. Nineteen are injured.”
“More dead than I hoped.”
“The mist melted the body on contact. There was nothing we could do. It seems to be an extremely lethal poison, yet the number of casualties is relatively low considering its potency.”
“The injured…?”
“They can be treated with healing magic.”
“Then as soon as treatment is finished, we leave immediately.”
“B-but what about more traitors?”
“Ugh…”
Deck rubbed his forehead and turned away.
“For now, search the traitors’ bodies.”
While several mages searched the corpses, Deck’s gaze landed elsewhere—on the black-haired boy that the people around him were hesitating to approach. He knew exactly what the looks in their eyes meant. Awe. The emotion one felt when faced with something incomprehensible.
I felt the same way when I was young.
His childhood friend, the one the Empire’s Transcendent mage had personally come to take away. Facing that overwhelming talent, he had felt neither jealousy nor envy.
Esoteric Beginner at fourteen… he’s even faster than that friend. No, has there ever been a case of someone entering Esoteric at fourteen?
Now he understood why they were looking at the boy that way. Deck shook his head and walked over to Leon.
“You received the Tower Master’s teachings…?”
He knew that simply receiving instruction could not produce this level of skill. Still, the question had slipped out as he tried to rationalize it somehow.
“It was only a short lesson,” Leon answered briefly. There was nothing else he could say. He had openly used the Glory of Lightning in front of everyone; there was no point in making excuses. Even so, those words could not fully explain what Leon had just done.
A fourteen-year-old Esoteric mage. Simultaneous nine-spell casting. A wooden sword. Scrolls…
Deck had many questions, but he let them go. For now, the important thing was that the boy was on their side.
Did the Tower Master know…?
Since he had learned the Tower Master’s magic, it was highly likely. The Tower Master, who was always busy training alone, had personally taught him.
“…Take this.”
Deck handed Leon a subspace pouch. When Leon accepted it with a questioning look, Deck explained.
“They are the Tower Master’s belongings. Since you inherited his teachings, it is only right that you hold onto them.”
Deck immediately turned and headed toward the mages searching the traitors’ bodies. One of them handed him something. It was a black brooch.
“It appears they used this to track our location. Should we search the rest of the group as well?”
“…”
With a throbbing headache, Deck approached Meln and Juben.
“Shouldn’t we identify the traitors before we move?”
“I would like to, but we don’t have time.”
The situation was that bad. The fact that the square-jawed man had retreated without regret meant he definitely had another card to play.
“…What if we split up?” Deck suggested after some thought. “If each of us leads a group in different directions, it will be easier to root out any remaining traitors, and the enemy will also become confused.”
“Let’s do that.”
The decision was made instantly. They divided the group into three and departed in separate directions.