Chapter 624: The King of Magic
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 624: The King of Magic
Not so long ago, there was a country whose only pride was its clear sky.
That land, with nothing to boast of but its clear skies, became a destination for those who came in search of stars twinkling in the pitch-black night. Those who yearned for the transparent heavens built towers on the cold, empty land and inscribed the beauty of the stars and their movements.
They built telescopes, drew celestial maps, and wrote books, gradually filling the empty land with knowledge.
The cold, dry, and desolate land became a nation of sages, glittering with knowledge.
Brilliant knowledge is the pride of a city, a symbol of civilization. And barbarians are wont to covet the fruits of a civilization cultivated by others. They invaded to steal the knowledge accumulated by the wise and the words inscribed on the towers.
The sages, who sometimes yielded and sometimes compromised, soon realized that dialogue was not such a good solution. In the end, they resolved to turn their knowledge into power and put their heads together.
That was magic.
A ritual to transmute knowledge into power.
And there was one who, against a mighty and barbaric empire, protected this land with the power of magic.
The Tower Keeper.
The Omniscient Sage.
The Crow on the Shoulder.
He had all sorts of nicknames, but even those were not enough. The mages, comparing him to the Beast King, called him…
The King of Magic. The Mage King.
His hair was swept back coolly, revealing thick eyebrows and distinct features. The slightly open front of his shirt revealed a firm, muscular chest. He was dressed in a light shirt and leather pants. And his hands were bare and trained.
He looked less like a mage and more like a handsome sailor from a great lake.
Is that the Mage King? He doesn't look as fearsome or powerful as his name suggests. In fact, he looks rather approachable. This is the strongest being supporting this era?
A good opportunity. Even the strongest is still human. I carefully tried to read his mind….
Huh?
He's... far away?
“However, this world is too fragile to contain your dreams! Is there anything more sad and empty than suppressing oneself and giving up on a dream despite having the ability to achieve it? It is the duty of the old to lay the foundation for the young. I shall prepare a space for you all!”
With that powerful declaration, the Mage King twisted his hand into a fist.
Bubble, bubble. Bubbles rose from all around.
At the center of the Floating Castle is a dazzlingly bright artificial sun. It brightens in the morning and darkens in the evening, governing the day and night of the world that is the Floating Castle. It was now daytime. The light of the artificial sun was pouring down brilliantly.
Bubbles formed in the space surrounding the battlefield, and as the space swelled, light distorted and scattered through it.
The Black Tower Master, the Green Tower Master. The Blue Tower Master and Shei standing between them. Even Lankart and I, who were nearby. We were all swept up in the spatial bubbles. Without moving a single step, the distance between us had stretched to nearly ten times what it was.
A Unique Magic that controls space? Depending on the Axiom or type of Unique Magic, there were abilities that could interfere with space, but to control space itself?
“Now! This is the space within my pocket. Break it, burn it, tear it, freeze it, shatter it—it all happens within the pocket! Clash with all your might, without a worry!”
The Mage King, as if excited, spread his arms wide and urged them to fight... but his very appearance had brought the battle to a lull.
“I have shown you a disgraceful sight, Master. My apologies.”
“Eek! M-Master...! I was just caught up in it!”
The Green Tower Master folded her parasol and withdrew her One-Way Street. The Black Tower Master's Vanishing Point crumbled in mid-air.
It's hard to fight when someone is watching you intently. Even more so if that person is far more powerful and mature, and is watching the fight itself with a gentle smile.
Vanishing Point, One-Way Street. Compared to the Mage King's power, they were nothing but petty and disgraceful.
The two Tower Masters stopped their disgraceful display and reined in their power. And the same went for the Blue Tower Master, who had intervened to stop them.
“Haaaah....”
The Blue Tower Master withdrew her power with extreme care. The Air Crystals were a storm suppressed by her Unique Magic. So powerful that it risked destroying even herself. If she didn't withdraw her power delicately, the Air Crystals would be released and sweep through the surroundings.
Just as the Blue Tower Master took a deep breath and began to slowly release her Unique Magic...
“Trying to withdraw your power? Allow me to help.”
Countless spatial distortions formed around her. The Mage King's 'pocket' enveloped the Air Crystals, and they were released from the Blue Tower Master's control.
The Air Crystals returned to their original form, creating a tremendous storm. It was a power so immense she couldn't use it lightly, but….
Even this was nothing compared to the Mage King's power.
The storm that had been churning through the space for some time came to a halt. Inside the Mage King's pocket.
The Blue Tower Master's full power, which threatened the entire Floating Castle, was nothing more than a tempest in a teacup to the Mage King.
The fight ended with an almost absurd ease. The Blue Tower Master bowed her head to the Mage King with a calm smile.
“Thank you for stopping them, Master. Thanks to you, I was able to calm down the excited children.”
She couldn't stop the Green and Black Tower Masters herself. It's difficult for a mage to interfere with another's magic. So, the Blue Tower Master had deliberately unleashed her Unique Magic to draw the Mage King's attention. Because he could end the situation without any trouble.
Realizing this, the Mage King slapped his forehead and laughed heartily.
“Well now! Was I just used?”
“Because the Green and Black Tower Masters wouldn't have withdrawn their power for anyone but you, Master.”
“Indeed. My two beloved disciples have taken my teachings to heart and follow them faithfully!”
As he smiled proudly and looked at the Green and Black Tower Masters, an affection and trust as firm as his words emanated from him. My mind-reading couldn't reach him, so I didn't know what he was truly thinking, but...
“B-Beloved... You say such embarrassing things.”
“Hmph....”
Judging by the reactions of the Green and Black Tower Masters, it didn't seem entirely one-sided. He called them his disciples? It seems their relationship has progressed a bit beyond that.
After giving his brilliant disciples a trustworthy smile, the Mage King turned his gaze away from them. Then, with a cold question on his face, he asked the Blue Tower Master.
“However. Blue Tower Master. I have one question. Why did you need to withdraw your power?”
Unlike the soft, warm smile he gave his disciples, a cold, rational question emerged.
“My castle is a paradise, a utopia for the chosen. Naturally, they should be omnipotent and free within this castle. They should not be limited by the common sense of the rabble.”
Such a severe elitism, befitting the King of Magic, the king of mages. I had wondered where the elitism so rampant in the Floating Castle came from; I needed to look no further.
“Was there a need to call me to save the rabble? Blue Tower Master, my interest and affection flow toward you, not toward the rabble who stand in your shadow.”
“...It was... necessary.”
“You have a different opinion. Can you persuade me?”
What the Mage King meant by 'persuasion' was a clash of their knowledge and opinions. The Blue Tower Master thought.
'As if that's possible... Master.'
The endlessly confident and arrogant Blue Tower Master was as insignificant as an insect compared to the Mage King. Wasn't even her Unique Magic, which she couldn't fully unleash for fear of harming herself, nothing more than a pinprick in the Mage King's pocket, a tempest in a teacup?
'Once you know, you can't pretend not to. The gap between the Master and me is even greater than the gap between me and the rabble. The way the Master looks at me is the same as the way I look at the rabble...'
Rebuttal, debate—both were meaningless. Under the silent pressure, the Blue Tower Master hugged her arms and bowed her head.
She looked so pitiful that I quietly approached and draped my coat over her still-frozen shoulders.
'Warm...?'
The Blue Tower Master, who hadn't even noticed my approach, lifted her head at the sensation on her shoulders.
“Rabble? Why are you here?”
“Huh? Oh, you looked cold.”
She did look cold. Ice crystals were clinging to her like scales. The Blue Tower Master saw my awkward posture and chuckled softly.
“Thank you, rabble. It was indeed cold.”
“I thought so. So mages get cold too.”
After that light reply, I subtly assessed the situation.
Did I approach her because she looked cold? Yes, that's true. But of course, that wasn't the only reason. It was also to change the mood.
I couldn't just stand by and watch the person who took my side get lynched.
“Hold on. The ones who were out of line were those two Tower Masters, Right-Hander King.”
Lankart was the same. Though rather than calculating the mood and acting like I did, he probably just didn't like the situation.
“The process of bringing Huey here was legitimate. The Green Tower Master was the one who went on a rampage and ordered everyone arrested. If you're going to scold someone for being selfish, you should have paid attention to your own disciple first.”
His speech was a mix of formal and informal. The Green Tower Master's eyes shot sparks at his still-insolent attitude in front of the Mage King, but the Mage King paid it no mind.
“Lankart. The dragon who leaped through the gate of ascension. Is this the rabble you brought?”
“Rabble? Huey is different. It's like right-handers looking at left-handers and calling them uneducated or stupid. He's just a left-hander, that's all.”
“Hmm. This 'left-hander' and 'right-hander' you speak of. It must be related to your Unique Magic, the World of the Right-Handed.”
Surprising. The Mage King seems to respect Lankart quite a bit. Is it because Lankart isn't his disciple? Or because he's 'the dragon who leaped through the gate of ascension'?
If I could read his mind, I'd know for sure... but he's still too far. My mind-reading can reach a considerable distance if I focus. How can he be farther than that?
The Mage King, whose thoughts remained a mystery, soon softened his stance.
“One who reached the Floating Castle by building his own tower, without inheriting the wisdom of the sages, deserves to be treated as such. Very well. I will not press the matter.”
“Master! Lankart brought a black mage!”
The Green Tower Master shouted, but the Mage King shook his head.
“I will not press the matter, Eliot Pascal. This time, let it go for your master's sake.”
“...Ugh!”
It was the word of her respected master. The Green Tower Master could not argue further and swallowed her words.
'It's no exaggeration. Master, you may be protecting Lankart, but that madman reveres that unknown rabble more than you!'
If given the chance for a private audience with the Mage King, she would probably try to persuade him more fervently. Though it likely wouldn't make much of a difference.
Thanks to that, the situation was settled for now. Shei, who had barely managed to compose herself, approached and said.
“Wait. Mage King!”
The Mage King ignored Shei as if he couldn't even hear her voice and addressed the Green and Black Tower Masters.
“Eliot Pascal. Lyuné Francesca. If you wish to challenge the Blue Tower Master and Lankart, then clash with everything you have in the space I have created! If you withdrew your power with such half-hearted resolve, then I can only assume that is all you amount to.”
“Mage King. I have something to say! It's about the crisis facing this Floating Castle! The King of Sins might be resurrected. If that happens, 'that thing' above this Floating Castle will no longer be yours!”
With nothing left to lose, Shei shouted out the most shocking piece of knowledge from before her regression. But the Mage King gave her no reaction at all.
I couldn't tell if he was ignoring her even though he could hear her, or if he couldn't hear her at all. Since I couldn't read his mind.
And the space receded.
The space that had swelled up like a bubble returned to normal. The only difference from before was that the two Tower Masters and the Mage King had vanished.
It seemed the Mage King had sided with us, ruling it our victory by decision. To be precise, he was on the side of the Blue Tower Master and Lankart, but still.
“Phew. We can finally breathe.”
“Thanks to you. You've got good sense.”
“Even a pet dog knows how to tell friend from foe. This is just basic decency.”
“About the coat. It was surprisingly warm for something just draped over me. Magic?”
Ah, she noticed? My small act of consideration.
“Even Standard Magic can warm up clothes. It all depends on how you use it, even if it's black magic, right?”
“I can't agree with that, but I do think it would have been better if you had learned white magic. Or... I could teach you?”
“Come to think of it, maybe the reason I never learned white magic was because I never had a wonderful teacher to show me the way.”
“Hehe. That might be rewarding.”
Thanks to the Blue Tower Master's help, I'd achieved my goal of joining up with Shei. The Mage King had also decided to let us be, so we should be safe for a while. Now I just had to go to Shei and find out what she meant earlier.
When I turned to look at Shei, she was staring at me and the Blue Tower Master with a very displeased expression.
“...Since when did you two get so close?”
Strange. Is it because I took off my coat? I suddenly feel cold.