The Ice Flower Blooms in the Marquisate
I expected this.
The basement of the mansion was filled with a sinister, ominous energy. At the same time, a massive magic circle had been designed to prevent that energy from leaking outside.
Just from the size and scale of the magic circle, it was clearly not something that could be installed easily. It must have been set up to protect something of great importance. With the family head absent, Dojun had judged that now was the time to infiltrate—and the results proved him right.
“So they joined hands with a cult to grow their house?”
The various objects inside were difficult to identify at a glance. Symbolic items whose meaning he couldn’t decipher, magic circles whose function was questionable, ritual formations, and bizarre shapes. Although an ominous aura continuously poured out of them, they didn’t seem to be ordinary magic.
What kind of cult is this?
Lim Dojun examined the ritual formation drawn on the floor. There were letters inscribed on it, but he couldn’t read them.
The most famous cult was the Extreme Martial God Cult, but that group was far too large to be called a mere cult. There were many other sects that pursued sinister teachings, most of which were treated as illegal by the state. Falling into a cult could rob a person of rational thought and lead them to massacre their own allies, so it was best to have no connection with them from the start.
I have no idea.
He studied both the letters and the symbols, but nothing came to him. That was only natural. The common knowledge Lim Dojun possessed about Astelgard was limited to widely known facts. There was no way he could identify a cult’s identity from such minor traces.
Besides, he didn’t need to figure it out. He simply had to take the evidence and hand it over to either Olivia or the Blue Magic Tower. They would handle the rest.
Proof of collusion between a Blue Magic Tower elder and a cultist? No matter how powerful the Baran House was, the entire family would come under attack. If they failed to prove their innocence properly, they would be destroyed—just like the Rodonos House had been.
Lim Dojun decided to collect only a few of the most ominous-looking objects for now.
-Clatter.
“Ah… damn it.”
The moment he touched the snake-shaped symbol, a wave of dismay washed over him. A storm of malevolent energy erupted from the object and transformed into dozens of magical strands that shot in every direction.
It was a trap-type spell triggered only under specific conditions. No—it was closer to a curse activated through a cult’s unique methods rather than standard magic. That was why even his Dragon Eyes had failed to predict it, and analysis only became possible after it had already activated.
-Shuuuuuu.
Amid the sinister energies rampaging in all directions, Lim Dojun calmly assessed the situation. Time seemed to stretch out, flowing slowly.
Blocking them one by one is impossible.
He needed to seize control of the entire space. In that seemingly slowed world, his hand moved at the same leisurely pace. Dozens of complex magic circles bloomed above his gradually opening palm. Mana wove between them, giving rise to a blue flower.
The ice flower bloomed with astonishing speed even within the slowed world. Though small, it was so intricate that every petal was perfectly formed.
“Glacier Avalanche.”
The moment Lim Dojun murmured the words, the petals unfurled completely, unleashing a massive explosion in every direction. It was an advanced spell reinforced with the secret art Blue Enhancement.
Glacier Avalanche
-Craaaaaack!
The sinister energy that had bloomed from the symbol and throughout the space was trapped within the ice flower’s explosion and frozen solid.
-Kwaaaaang!
A colossal ice flower bloomed at the center of the Baran House mansion.
“Haa…”
Lim Dojun let out a regretful sigh. His original plan had been to gather a few pieces of evidence and slip away quietly, but that was no longer possible. With a disturbance this large, the Baran House’s retainers would come running immediately.
Guess I’ll have to fight my way out.
From now on, it was a race against time.
Lim Dojun created an ice sword in one hand and leaped lightly through the hole in the ceiling.
Olivia had been waiting nearby the Baran House.
Although Lim Dojun had entered the mansion, she didn’t trust him completely. No matter how capable he was, she believed it would be difficult for him to obtain the information the Rodonos House wanted in just a single day.
If Elder Jun stirs things up inside, it might create an opening on the outside. We’ll be watching for that.
She hoped even the tiniest crack would appear. In truth, the chances of catching a weakness in the Baran House were extremely low, but there was no harm in trying anything they could.
Olivia calmed her mind. Waiting like this required patience. Since she had no idea when or how an opportunity might come, she had even prepared herself to camp outside for several days if necessary while conserving her strength…
-Kwaaaaang!
Less than an hour after Lim Dojun had gone inside, a massive ice formation rose from the mansion, powerful enough to shake the entire building.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Olivia’s mouth fell open. There was only one possible cause for this sudden phenomenon.
What the hell did he do in there?
At the exact moment Olivia was stunned, the people of the Baran House were exploding with rage.
“That damn young elder! What the hell has he done?!”
The butler clenched his fists and roared. The gentle, courteous demeanor he usually displayed was nowhere to be seen.
The ice magic that had erupted from the center of the mansion left no room for doubt about its caster. No one but an elder of the Blue Magic Tower could produce a spell of that scale.
Could the Blue Magic Tower have learned something?
The suspicion arose naturally. Otherwise, why would a Blue Magic Tower elder suddenly unleash large-scale magic the moment he arrived? Moreover, a spell of that magnitude would normally take time to prepare, even for an elder. The fact that he had cast it so soon after being shown to his room could only mean he had come prepared from the beginning.
“Butler! What’s happening?”
A knight burst into the butler’s office and asked urgently.
The butler of a great house was not merely in charge of servants and maids. He oversaw everything from the family’s major and minor affairs to assisting the direct bloodline and the family head. Because of that, he was treated almost on par with the direct descendants. In fact, the butler’s ancestors had once been part of the main bloodline.
In the absence of the family head, it was only natural for the butler to wield full authority.
The butler looked at the knight.
“Sir Sertin. Gather the knights immediately. Call the family mages as well.”
“What’s going on? It doesn’t look like an enemy raid—the disturbance came from the center of the mansion.”
“It is an attack. There is only one enemy: an elder of the Blue Magic Tower.”
“……”
Knight Sertin’s expression hardened.
“The Blue Magic Tower? Don’t tell me they’ve discovered our secret…?”
“I know what you’re worried about, but don’t fret too much. It seems they’ve guessed something, but they don’t know the full truth.”
If they had, they wouldn’t have sent just one elder—they would have launched a proper assault. The elder’s visit had likely been meant to lower their guard while he searched for evidence. Just like what was happening now.
“We are the Baran House. Without concrete proof, even the Blue Magic Tower can only protest. They cannot do anything more.”
“Then we must capture that Blue Magic Tower elder before he escapes the mansion.”
“Without fail!”
Knight Sertin nodded firmly and dashed outside. They had to move as quickly as possible.
-Tap tap tap!
Lim Dojun ran at full speed. Time was life itself.
Eisenhafen was an enormous city, but a disturbance of this scale would be noticeable from anywhere within it. Especially since Lim Dojun had chosen the Baran House as the first destination for his activities after becoming an elder. The Blue Magic Tower was surely keeping an eye on the situation. Once they learned of the uproar at the Baran House, they would move immediately to assess the situation.
Therefore, if he could just get out of the mansion, he would be safe.
It’s ridiculously huge.
As expected of a great house’s residence, the mansion was so vast that even running at full speed, the entrance still felt far away.
And at that moment—
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
A shout rang out, followed by a streak of sword energy flying toward him.
Lim Dojun swung the ice sword in his hand without even looking and deflected it.
-Boom!
“…A mage blocking my sword energy with a sword?”
Knight Sertin stared in disbelief, but Lim Dojun paid him no attention and quickly scanned his surroundings. By now, Baran House knights had already blocked his path ahead.
Six knights. No mages yet.
They were probably on their way. Since knights had superior physical ability, they had arrived first. If so, this was his chance. It was far easier to break through knights and mages separately than to pierce a combined encirclement.
-Thud!
Lim Dojun kicked off the ground first. The knights flinched. Logically, a mage should have tried to increase the distance, so his advance confused them.
But Lim Dojun was no ordinary mage.
The ice sword wasn’t just for show. During his time in the military back on Earth, he had fought battles like this countless times. The experience from then, combined with the secret arts of the Rodonos House, had created Draconian Intermediate Combat Technique.
It wasn’t merely swordsmanship—it was a martial art that utilized the entire body. Lim Dojun spun as he charged forward, launching ice sword energy wildly toward the knights.
-Clang!
-Clang clang!
A bizarre sight: a mage shooting sword energy while displaying impossible physical maneuvers. The difficult-to-handle attacks forced the knights to retreat, and in that opening, Lim Dojun’s magic unfolded.
-Sssssss.
The ground froze, seizing their ankles as ice spikes shot upward. Even though it was cast without incantation, the spell’s power was so great that the knights could not afford to ignore it.
Knights wore armor and could reinforce it with mana. Normally they would charge while enduring ordinary spells with their bodies, but one look at Lim Dojun’s magic told them that would be suicidal.
“What the hell is this guy?”
“Is he really a Blue Magic Tower elder?”
He fired several more bursts of ice sword energy at the bewildered knights and resumed his sprint.
-Tap tap tap tap!
The mansion’s entrance was no longer far.