Chapter 386
Chapter 386
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 386
Chapter Title: Clash with the Tower Lords
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Hailes gazed at the rapidly passing scenery.
The turtle's speed grew faster and faster. Hailes was convinced they were leading at the forefront.
As they pressed on smoothly like that, the destination soon appeared in the far distance.
The most sacred tree, surrounded by sparkling green stars.
The moment they arrived there, this trial would be over.
"Wait a minute."
At that moment, Hailes spoke to Hyomin.
"Stop for a moment."
Hyomin, who had been focused on using her skill, wondered what was wrong. But after a brief pause, she stopped as Hailes instructed and looked around, quickly realizing the situation.
There were people near the destination—about ten of them, all floating in the sky.
Jinun, who had been sitting quietly in meditation, opened his eyes. Unhyang silently picked up the sword she had set down on the ground and stood.
Hailes looked up and smiled brightly.
"We'll see each other again soon, Elder."
Her bright, unblemished smile lightened the tense atmosphere that had felt on the verge of erupting into battle.
But regardless, the turtle's eager charge had already come to a halt.
"Of all people, it had to be you."
The group blocking their path consisted of mages from the Red Tower and Blue Tower. And at their forefront was Magnus, the new Red Tower Lord they had encountered earlier.
Hailes' favorite and most respected mage.
He let out a deep sigh.
"Why did you have to arrive so quickly?"
"Our companions are quite capable. They have all sorts of amazing abilities."
"Companions, huh..."
Magnus unwittingly smiled. A strange sense of familiarity washed over him pleasantly.
To hear the word "companions" from Hailes' mouth.
During her time in the Red Tower, Hailes had never used the term "companions." It was always rigid titles like senior, junior, or elder.
For such words to fully emerge from her mouth now.
"Save the tearful reunion for later."
The man who approached beside Magnus was an elderly figure in a blue robe.
With blue eyes like Siwoo's and an aura of chilling energy, he was none other than Axion, the Blue Tower Lord.
"We're enemies here, aren't we? Such warm greetings will only hinder the fight."
"You're still as cold as ever."
"And you could stand to heat up a bit. How can the Red Tower Lord be so lukewarm?"
"That's exactly why I didn't want this position."
Magnus and Axion were polar opposites in every way. Despite their clashing personalities, they were closer friends than anyone.
Their role here was to block all approaching participants.
"Don't take it to heart."
At that moment, Jinun, who had quietly clasped his hands behind his back and risen, eased Magnus' burden.
"No one in this guild is foolish enough not to realize you mean no malice. If there is, I'll discipline them myself."
"Greetings. I am Magnus."
"Jinun."
In response to Jinun's greeting, Magnus returned the Murim-style salute with clasped hands. Axion also greeted him and said,
"I've witnessed your skills. They far exceed your reputation—no, they surpass even that."
"Just modest talents."
"If skills that toyed with the Green Tower Lord are 'modest,' then the Green Tower should close its doors."
Axion chuckled heartily as he glanced at Magnus.
Magnus nodded as their eyes met. Having been close friends for so long, they understood each other's desires with just a look.
Axion wanted to fight Jinun.
Of course, they weren't alone here.
"Can you handle the others?"
Jinun entrusted the remaining mages to Unhyang and Hyomin.
The two, who had already anticipated this, responded immediately.
"Got it."
"I thought I'd just end up playing with the turtle."
Of course, it wouldn't be as easy as their casual replies suggested.
Lumped together as "the others," they were still elders and vice-lords of their respective towers.
Too many for just the two to handle. Moreover, they had no intention of fighting fair.
"Do we need to go the hard way?"
"We just need to kill that big turtle."
"The Heavenly Demon's daughter and Lee Hyomin aren't easy opponents. Don't get careless."
Their goal from the start wasn't to win fights. It was to win the competition.
Without that advantage, they wouldn't dare challenge grand mages.
Of course, things didn't go as they wished.
A faint smile formed on Jinun's lips.
"Why do you think I stayed behind?"
Whoosh—.
With a sound like a candle flickering out, the surrounding scenery shifted rapidly.
Curiously, the landscape enveloping each of them was different. Hailes with Magnus, Jinun with Axion, and the others too.
Among them, Axion, who had entered the same space as Jinun, looked around in admiration.
"Indeed... no wonder the Green Tower Lord couldn't stand against you."
Before they knew it, the two stood alone in a vast white snowy plain.
It was exactly to his liking, yet that very fact sobered Axion.
"But why a snowy field? This is my favorite terrain."
"We're not fighting out of malice, as the Red Tower Lord said. A pleasant atmosphere is better, no?"
"Provocation?"
"Is that how it felt?"
To Jinun's retort, Axion stared straight into his eyes. After a moment, he calmly closed and opened them, murmuring,
"Almost let a bad habit slip."
He had no right to nag Magnus about getting heated. He, who had given the advice, had nearly erred by heating up himself.
What he needed was unwavering solidity and cool-headedness, not passion.
Hadn't he seen it himself? How easily the Green Tower Lord fell to him.
"My apologies. I'm hotter-tempered than I appear."
"I thought you were an utterly cold man."
"If that's how I seemed, you saw wrong."
Swaaa—.
A bluish mana gathered around Axion. Riding the mana, snow from the plain swirled like a vortex, enveloping him.
"My ice will be scorching hot."
Hailes and Magnus stood atop a tall building's rooftop.
A tower so high that the village below looked like a toy, with a diameter of over a hundred meters. It was a place all too familiar to them both.
"We've come back here like this."
The spot where they stood was the pinnacle of the Red Tower.
The place Hailes had been until recently. The home where fire mages studied lore and magic.
And now she had returned.
"For me, it's just where I was a few days ago. Nothing new."
Magnus smiled warmly.
"So, how have you been?"
"Aren't you being too friendly right after your friend left?"
"Drawing lines already? That hurts."
Hailes felt at ease as Magnus treated her the same as before she left the Red Tower.
That was why.
She could bring up such topics without hesitation.
"The Dragon Lord died recently."
He already knew. Upon learning of the Dragon Lord's death, Hailes had informed the Red Tower first.
"If I'd gone sooner, things might have been different, right?"
The thought of having neglected him for so long wouldn't leave her.
"How is that your fault? Those who hate peace are the villains."
"But I had the power to stop it."
"Hailes."
To the self-blaming Hailes, Magnus spoke calmly.
"When I taught you that power brings responsibility, I didn't mean to look back. I meant look forward. It wasn't your fault."
Hailes' downcast expression gradually brightened.
With a beaming smile, she said,
"Truth is, I wanted to hear that."
How could she not know Magnus? She had known he would respond this way.
She said it knowing, and he answered knowing. That alone was comfort enough.
"Guess I said something pointless. We're about to fight, and of all people, it's with you, Elder."
"Sorry about that?"
"Yeah. Since I'm stronger, after all."
Arrogant and cheeky words, but Magnus couldn't deny them. He knew her abilities better than anyone.
"No need to apologize."
Hellfire Dominion
An ultimate spell as difficult to manifest as Meteor. Flames swirled around Magnus at the center.
Whoosh—.
The surrounding air grew scorching hot. The lofty tower transformed into a hellscape in an instant.
"Sorry, but I prepared it while we talked."
"Elder, that's cheating!"
Magnus burst into laughter at Hailes' cry.
But he knew. She had noticed him preparing the spell long ago.
How could a grand mage miss another preparing magic right in front of her? She had pretended not to notice.
To ensure he didn't lose pathetically. To preserve the dignity of the Red Tower's elder.
"Thank you."
Roar—!
The surrounding flames erupted. Red and black fires surged like waves, forming whirlwinds.
Magnus' flames blazed toward Hailes. The wave of fire gaped wide and swallowed her whole.
Crackle—.
The Red Tower began to burn. In the center of the blazing tower, Magnus stood with staff raised, his red robe fluttering.
Magnus waited for Hailes. He believed she would walk out from those flames.
And sure enough.
"How am I supposed to take a 'thank you' followed by hurling fire at me?"
From the raging inferno, Hailes slowly emerged.
It was expected, yet Magnus was startled.
No matter what, not even a single scorch mark marred her body.
"When I was little, you told me, Elder: A mage who wields fire must not fear it."
He remembered.
It was from when she was very young. Back then, Hailes was a tiny girl reaching only his waist, a novice mage just entering the tower.
Recalling that time, Magnus smiled.
"Who would believe it? That the great fire archmage once feared flames as a child."
"And you said at the same time: Don't fear it, but do fear it. The fire we wield can claim many lives."
"Yes. That's the beginning and end of fire as I see it."
"Did I learn well?"
Magnus smiled contentedly.
But he shook his head and said,
"Forget what I taught you."
"Why?"
"You're a far superior mage than I. My beginning was fearing fire no more, and my end fearing it again. But you'll be different."
Magnus looked up at the sky.
Before he knew it, the color of the hellfire he had unleashed had changed.
The sky turned white as new flames prepared to descend. Hotter and more beautiful than his own.
He wasn't the only one preparing magic during their conversation.
Pure white flames that couldn't be dodged or blocked engulfed the ground. Like erasing a blackened world with an eraser, everything turned pristine white.
Crackle. Non-burning flames enveloped his body. At Hailes' consideration in using painless magic, Magnus smiled and said,
"You wield a different fire from mine, so yours must be something else entirely."