Chapter 328
Chapter 328
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 328
Chapter Title: Assembly (1)
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The Ashen Mage Tower, once swallowed by shadows, was now devoured once more by flames. The fierce blaze burned away the darkness, carving a path straight into the tower's heart. But the fire's role didn't end there.
Tick, tick.
Ashen flames roared to life.
Sparks flew, mingling with the ash and flickering into existence. Then, a blinding flash of white engulfed the area, followed by a thunderous boom.
BOOOOM!
The ground trembled from the explosion that erupted right after the flash.
The plaza where the Ashen Mage Tower stood shook violently, the vibrations rippling along the streets and throughout the entire capital.
The knights holding back the monsters flinched. The beasts clawing at their shields froze. Even the traitors commanding them halted in unison. Rooted in place, all eyes turned skyward to the same spot.
The Ashen Mage Tower.
The tower that had stood through centuries of the kingdom's history was now burning. Flames wrapped around it, rising from the earth below to connect with the heavens above.
A straight pillar of fire linking ground to sky.
It was a signal, a beacon fire.
...Since ancient times, flames had been revered as sacred, something that purified demons. Flames held no inherent divinity, but people saw them as holy for banishing the dark.
And now was no different.
The blaze consuming the shadows over the tower.
From that brilliant inferno stretching to the heavens, the knights felt a divine presence. Flames danced in their eyes as they gazed upon it.
The hero is with us.
The beacon of counterattack has risen.
The knights roared, driving back the monsters. The tide of battle began to turn. And the fire's reach extended beyond those nearby knights.
To those far off, searching for the path ahead.
To the heroes who would lead the next generation. The beacon guided them. Come here. Your enemies await. Following its call, they moved.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
Deep in the underground sewers teeming with monsters.
Where the traitors who unleashed and created the beasts had gathered, the hounds burst in. The Hounds' blades gleamed menacingly in the darkness.
In a place no eyes could reach.
The hounds silently dispatched the traitors who had raised arms against the royal family. Leading them was one man.
Guarder Kalt.
The superhuman swordsman drew his blade.
Shring. The sound of vibrating steel echoed softly through the sewers. The bustling hounds froze in place, then wordlessly stepped back a few paces.
No place for them when a superhuman unleashed.
As they retreated, Kalt stepped forward without hesitation. Tap. A light footfall rang out, and in an instant, his figure vanished.
Slash.
Kalt slid to the far end of the sewer like a shadow. The traitors gasped at his sudden appearance behind them but couldn't turn. They had no chance.
Whoosh.
Kalt swung his sword lightly.
Blood on the blade scattered into the air. Then, along his path, a trail of silver-white sword light appeared—the arc his blade had traced.
SHRRRIIIISH!
Monsters, traitors, even the flowing water—everything was severed. Blood sprayed everywhere. Kalt pointed his blade at the corpses.
"Clean it up."
As the Hounds drove stakes into the regenerating traitors' hearts, Kalt sliced through the sewer grate and ascended to the surface.
Monsters swarmed the streets.
The stench of beasts filled the air.
A battlefield smell permeated the city streets—familiar where it shouldn't be. Kalt furrowed his brow at the realization.
Shring.
He readied himself again.
Steadying his breath to unleash the swift blade taught by the superhuman swordsman Kuntil, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook. A boom followed.
Kalt looked up.
A pillar of fire had erupted in the capital's heart.
The moment he saw it, a smile tugged at his lips.
Only one person he knew would pull off such a mad stunt. Gripping his sword tighter with a grin, Kalt charged.
Sweeping aside monsters, he raced toward his senior's call. Silver-white sword trails cut across the monster-infested capital.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Monsters appeared simultaneously across the capital.
Aphria Academy couldn't escape them either. As beasts erupted from underground sewers, the faculty panicked and rushed to protect the students... but Aphria's students weren't so fragile as to need shielding.
What the faculty found at the dorms were mangled monster corpses strewn about.
At the center stood a boy.
Letting his axe hang low, wiping blood from its blade.
Rak van Grace, warrior of the North.
Behind him stood the Combat Magic Department's students. They hadn't panicked under the monster assault. Instead, they tested their training by ripping the beasts apart barehanded.
They poured out of the dorms.
Brushing past the stunned faculty, they began hunting the monsters roaming Aphria. Traitors blocked their path... but met their end under Rak's swinging axe.
They fight too damn well.
The watching faculty and resident knights were slack-jawed. Rak shone brightest, but the students following him showed no shortcomings against the monsters.
Combat magic rooted in martial prowess.
Tearing open charging monsters' jaws, shattering their spines with spells. Then stomping the fallen beasts and finishing them off one by one.
What the hell...
Movements that left even knights in awe.
As if they'd lived through this before, the students moved with expert precision—like battlefield knights.
Unable to just watch, one knight murmured to the faculty.
"What the hell do these kids even learn on a normal day...?"
As the obvious question hung in the air, Rak charged a traitor commanding monsters. One strike split the head; the second tore out the heart, the source of regeneration.
Drenched in blood, Rak dashed forward.
Heating.
Red glow in his eyes trailed like a comet.
Rak threw himself into a pack of monsters.
Then swung his axe wildly.
Crunch, crack, splat!
His movements more beastly than the beasts themselves, Rak began massacring them. He'd long surpassed student level—nay, even veteran knights.
Galatrick Fang.
Grace Style, Form 1: First-Glance Kill.
The air rippled, and monster corpses flew skyward. Flesh rained down like a storm. Blood pouring over him, Rak leaped at another pack.
Superhuman agility.
Hyper senses, limited foresight, and near-superhuman physique fully unleashed, Rak butchered the monsters. Amid the slaughter, a earth-shaking impact made him look up distantly.
The rising pillar of fire.
Gazing at it, Rak shook the gore from his axe with a whoosh. He couldn't explain why, but it felt like a call to him.
He headed toward the flames.
He wasn't the only one who received the signal.
"...That."
Belnoa, the shadow sorcerer battling traitors before the Black Mage Tower, saw it too. The flames called her. Instinct screamed to head there.
"[Come, contractor.]" Borrowing the primordial god's power, scales covered Belnoa's fingers. Amid a dry wind, she strode forward, Chloe at her side, leading radiant light.
"We have work to do."
Fourth Princess Aila moved alone, leaving her guard knight behind.
"P-Princess! That's dangerous...!"
The frantic knight tried to stop her, but Aila subdued the traitors with a flick of her finger.
Stella, the star-blessed child.
Stella dominated the flows around her.
Few mages could wield mana in her domain, and with her talent awakened, Aila commanded everything within.
Monsters toppled.
Traitors vomited blood and collapsed.
With each step forward, those in her domain knelt and bowed. A ruler's power befitting her. Aila bent all in sight to her will and marched toward the pillar.
They gathered.
Those who had grown in their own ways converged on the capital's heart at one signal.
The heroes assembled.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Glimmers converged.
Brilliant lights streamed toward this place.
From the Ashen Mage Tower's pinnacle, the madman scowled at the sight.
...For this day of reversal, he had calculated endlessly. From the capital's heights, he'd mapped its forces, predicted hero deployments and ranges.
Eradicating variables one by one.
Lying in wait for the perfect moment.
The only variable left was one Ashen Mage, now pinned by Skeval. No others remained—he was certain. His unfulfilled wish would come true.
The plan was perfect.
Calculations flawless.
Knights alone couldn't stop the traitors' forces; even mage tower mages joining would only delay. And that was enough.
Just buy time.
Monsters would spread chaos; screams of the bitten would accelerate the ritual's completion. The capital would soon drown in darkness.
That was the madman's plan.
His calculations held true up to a year ago, when he finished and discarded Isaac's body.
But not now, a mere year later.
Just one year had passed, yet an unforeseen variable arose in the capital. The madman glared at the incoming lights.
A superhuman swordsman.
The North's warrior inheriting the first holy sword.
A sorcerer contracted with a primordial god.
The hero bearing twin starlight.
The child of a star independent from the stars.
And the madman glanced back.
The girl meant to be bound in shadows was tearing them away. Seeing the girl with the god's eyes, he burst into laughter.
"Ridiculous."
Just one year.
After centuries of scheming... variables born in that blink shattered it all. His chessboard overturned. Even so, he didn't despair.
He laughed.
At the twist he never foresaw, variables from a mere instant compared to centuries, crumbling his plans—a cosmic joke. He howled with mad laughter.
"Unthinkable. Impossible to think. Who could've predicted so many variables in just a year...?"
A fleeting moment to him.
But to one splitting their scant lifespan, an eternity. That relative time plunged his certain future into chaos.
Now even he couldn't predict the end.
Gauging the uncertain future, he looked down. There stood a mage, clutching charred bone fragments, staring up at him. Blue eyes flecked with ash gleamed.
She slowly raised her arm, pointing at him with a finger. A twisted smile curled her lips.
"Wait."
I'm coming.
A chill ran down his spine.
Centuries ago, the great sage had eyed him the same way. As if leaping across ages, this Ashen will appeared. The madman applauded.
Yes, Raniel van Trias.
Damnable inheritor of the Ashen will.
It had to be you.
Only you, who births all variables.
Only you, with eyes like mine.
His lips split into a manic grin.
"Come, then."
Lead your variables to me.
Try stopping my plan.
I'll wait here.
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