The Death of a Certain Evil Wizard

Episode 1

Part 0. Back to the Northern Magic Tower

1. The Death of a Certain Evil Wizard

Liliope's sister, Calliona, whom she had loved and resented for so long, was dead.

"Found her! It's the body of Calliona, the Black Witch!"

"Search the surroundings! The remaining Velegot bastards must be nearby!"

In the tainted forest where the wizards' battle had taken place, a thick, unmistakable stench of blood filled the air.

Amidst the rain pouring down like blades, Liliope stared blankly at the cold corpse lying on the ground.

The three magic towers that had promised to harmonize the world's balance and protect this land from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disaster.

Among them, the Northern Magic Tower had broken its oath and betrayed humanity.

The wizards of the Northern Magic Tower, who had become enemies of all, sought to hasten the end by gaining the power of disaster, turning the world into hell.

Liliope and Calliona were wizards from that very Northern Magic Tower, and Calliona, in particular, was a genius who had even been nominated as a candidate for the next Tower Lord.

Unlike Liliope, who had always been labeled an underachiever within the tower and was eventually expelled, Calliona was a true genius whose abilities were recognized by everyone.

But Liliope's sister, who always looked down on everyone with arrogance befitting her talent, was now lying pathetically on the ground beneath people's feet.

Unlike her usual self, who was known for her cleanliness to the point of being called a germaphobe, she was covered in blood and mud, a dirty mess.

"Finally dead, you goddamn bitch!"

"Ha, this demonic woman is dead. There must still be a god in this world."

"No, no! I should have killed her with my own hands, I should have taken revenge myself! How can she die so peacefully after killing my family so brutally!"

The sounds of people cursing and screaming at the dead were deafening.

'Why?'

Liliope, drenched in the cold rain, repeated the futile question in her mind, not knowing how many times she had already asked it.

'Why did it turn out like this? How did it end up like this?'

Then, Liliope suddenly recalled the voice of a cursed man.

"You two seem to have the aptitude for wizards. How about following me? If you come with me, you won't have to live in the cold and hungry like you do now."

Ah, yes. Everything went wrong from that day.

That winter day when white snowstorms raged.

No matter how hard the wizards tried to drive out the shadows of disaster and restore the land in the contaminated holy ground, the number of tombstones increased every year, and orphans overflowed.

The sisters were only twelve and thirteen years old when they were left alone.

Having suddenly lost their parents and wandering the streets with nothing, a man in a blue robe reached out to them.

The children, knowing nothing, naturally had limited choices, so they followed the only man who had taken them in.

At the time, they thought of it as benevolent compassion, but how absurd that delusion was.

The place they arrived at was by no means paradise.

It was a place where they underwent harsh training every day under the pretext of fostering strong wizards, and no one cared even when children who did not meet the standards died without a word.

How could they dare compare that nightmarish place, where they were barely able to survive, to paradise?

How difficult must it have been for Calliona, who had to take care of her burdensome younger sister in such an environment where it was difficult to protect herself?

Perhaps that was why. That was when her kind sister began to change.

"I'm ashamed to be the sister of a half-wit like you. Since blood ties don't matter to Velegot wizards anyway, don't you dare call me your sister in front of others."

From some point on, it seemed as if Calliona was determined to completely erase Liliope from her life.

She began to associate with bad wizards in the Northern Magic Tower and commit all sorts of evil deeds.

She no longer acknowledged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Liliope, who was bullied as a barely passing half-wit.

Not only that, but Calliona befriended those who openly insulted Liliope and became lovers with those who despised her.

Even when Liliope was almost killed by their hands, Calliona only watched her from afar with cold eyes.

The experience of someone you once believed you would be with until the day you died becoming more distant than a complete stranger was as bitter as drinking poison.

"Liliope, you are not worthy of the name Velegot."

Most shocking of all was the fact that it was none other than Calliona who had expelled Liliope from the tower.

"From today, you are no longer a wizard of the Northern Magic Tower. So don't ever let me see you again. Because if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you do, I will kill you with my own hands."

The cruel memory of that day when she was captured like a hunted beast and humiliatedly forced to bow her head to the ground.

Her sister's ruthless voice, falling from above like the blade of a guillotine.

Calliona, who trampled on Liliope's back as she struggled and shattered her magic core herself.

Liliope would never forget that sorrowful pain for the rest of her life.

Even when Liliope was abandoned as a cripple who could no longer use magic, her sister did not look back.

Clearly, the two had crossed an irreversible river at that time.

Since Calliona had never gone back on her word, if they met again, she would surely end her annoying younger sister with her own hands.

That was also why Liliope joined the hunting party that was subjugating the wizards of the Northern Magic Tower and chased after Calliona, who was making a name for herself.

She would rather die by her sister's hand.

So when she finally encountered Calliona on the night of the new moon, she even felt relieved.

"Are you crazy? You idiot, what are you doing here without any fear!"

But why?

Calliona did not kill Liliope.

"Come with me. You shouldn't be in a place like this. Get out of here before anyone sees you!"

The black magic that had once cruelly harmed Liliope now wrapped around her to protect her.

"Go quickly. Don't ever set foot here again. Don't ever come near this place, which doesn't suit you. Just pretend someone like me doesn't exist in your life. Got it?"

Spatial teleportation unfolded in an instant, and black magic feathers fluttered in her vision.

The moment their eyes met through the gaps, Liliope discovered in Calliona the remnants of familiar emotions that she had desperately missed.

"Go... go with me."

So Liliope was able to cling to her sister for the last time, as if she had returned to her childhood.

"Come with me, Sister...!"

Both of them sensed that this was their last moment.

A pale hand reached out from beyond the black magic that quietly raged, dividing the space like iron bars.

"Goodbye. Live well, Liliope."

A fleeting, warm touch and whisper, like a sigh, along with a faint smile, like a hallucination.

Immediately, a storm of black feathers completely swallowed Liliope.

That was the last memory of Calliona alive.

"But this is strange. Isn't this magic trace the Velegot style? This woman must have been in an important position even in the Northern Magic Tower, so why did she die in such a terrible state?"

"Who cares, maybe they had internal strife! Spit, you bad woman! She's a bitch who deserves to be killed a hundred times over!"

"Wait, what are you doing now? Calix told us not to touch the bodies of the wizards."

"Damn it, but it's okay to vent my anger, right!"

Thud!

Someone spat on the corpse in the mud, which she still couldn't believe was her sister. Then, they began to kick the cold body mercilessly.

The people who were cursing Calliona seemed to be infected with madness and joined in one by one.

"Stop..."

At that moment, Liliope's lips, which had turned pale, twitched.

Even though she had hated her sister so much in the past, she didn't feel any satisfaction.

"Stop it. Please stop it...!"

Rather, she felt suffocated and her stomach twisted, as if she was about to die.

"Don't touch my sister, don't touch my sister...!"

Of course.

No matter how much people cursed her, saying she deserved to die, even if she was really an evil person who deserved to fall into hell, as they said, Calliona was still Liliope's beloved sister.

Everyone in the area frowned at Liliope, who suddenly rushed in and frantically hit and pushed people away.

"Get out of the way! How dare you, a failure, interfere?"

"You ungrateful thing! The benevolent Calix took you into the hunting party even though you can't use magic, and now you're protecting this damn bitch?"

"I knew it. Those Velegot bastards are black-hearted! I knew from the start that you were in cahoots with them! The story about being kicked out of the Northern Magic Tower was all a lie, wasn't it?"

Liliope fell into the mud and crawled towards Calliona, gritting her teeth even as she was kicked countless times.

My only sister, Calliona.

The one who had always been by her side since birth, the one she could once confide in and rely on, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like half of her life.

She didn't know. She didn't know what had happened to her, or what she had lived for.

If she could, she wanted to ask her directly, but that opportunity would never come.

Because Calliona was dead.

Because she had died alone, leaving Liliope behind...

If Liliope had been a more supportive sister to Calliona, could she have stopped her from meeting such a death today?

But she was too powerless and weak, and she could do nothing but blame herself and cry like this.

"Wait... When did the forest get so dark?"

"Come to think of it... Damn it! Retreat quickly! The shadows are coming again!"

"Hurry, we've gone too deep into the contaminated forest! Those crazy Velegot bastards! Why did they choose such an unpleasant place for their hideout...!"

Ah... She wanted to go back to the time when she and her sister could face each other and laugh without any worries.

In that vain wish, the moment Liliope's hand finally touched Calliona's cold body.

[Finally found you.]

Suddenly, an eerie voice pierced through the top of her head.

Rumble, crash!

A bright flash of light burst from the cloud-filled sky, and a huge thunderclap, accompanied by lightning, sounded as if it had been waiting.

[The last remaining wizard of the Western Dawn. My final contractor.]

When Liliope held her breath at the strange feeling that time had stopped, all the light and sound in the world disappeared in an instant.

[I will grant your wish, so offer the price.]

And the pitch-black darkness and emptiness that surged like a wave swallowed Liliope whole.