Episode 1209
Episode 1209
-If we just look at the records...
"Reading from records has its limitations, doesn't it? There must be many things that were omitted or left out."
This mage from the Wardanaz family was most infuriating when he was right.
Indeed, events from the past were difficult to grasp through records alone.
There was a reason why mages specializing in historical research continuously developed and refined all sorts of magic to read traces.
No matter what magic was used, omissions were ultimately inevitable.
-I see. Still, don't overlook the magic.
In the end, Hamster was still a mage.
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of magic the Yacha King or Sanguiros had mentioned.
"Well, I'll look into it if I get the chance."
Seeing Lee Han respond so casually, as if browsing goods at a general store, Hamster nearly spat out curses on the spot.
Frankly, who would benefit from discovering this magic?
It would be this brat from the Wardanaz family. Hamster couldn't learn it now.
Yet he was acting like it was someone else's business!
-Wait. The nearby mana is shifting slightly. Could there be an ambush?
"That's probably due to the telepathy I received. The professors contacted me."
-What contact?
"They told me not to enter."
-?
Hamster momentarily showed confusion.
Because the words and actions were completely contradictory.
Moreover, wasn't this Wardanaz bastard supposed to listen to his teachers?
'No. Let's not argue.'
After some thought, Hamster quietly closed his mouth.
He was afraid that if he asked whether they should leave, they might actually have to go.
Whoosh!
-Pathetic humans! How dare you trespass into the vampires' domain!
-Don't let them leave alive!
"!"
Lee Han paused when he saw the vampire revenants gathered at the lower levels of the fortress walls.
These beings, having lost their reason, were still trapped in the past, preparing for battle.
They were under the delusion that this was a vampire stronghold, with hordes of evil imperial soldiers led by a wicked archmage outside, and they unleashed attacks against non-existent enemies.
Though their attacks were poorly aimed, their power was highly threatening. The blood-tinged mana imbued in the fortress granted even ordinary attacks a deadly destructive force.
-This mana feels unpleasant. Mages could easily be enthralled by it.
Hamster sensed the mana flowing within the fortress and expressed his discomfort.
Not all magic criminals enjoyed strange and corrupted mana.
Of course, true magic criminals would endure any magic for higher realms, but fundamentally, an evil god's mana was a ticking time bomb that could cause unforeseen problems.
Looking around the fortress now, all sorts of uncontrollable mana were running wild—from the mana obtained by evil god worshippers through sacrifices to the natural mana corrupted by negative emotions.
Such mana might enhance the power of spells, but it also easily intoxicated the mage.
A mage must be the master of mana, not a slave led astray by its allure.
"Is it because of Sanguiros?"
-That's part of it, but mana naturally becomes corrupted when wars drag on. The negative emotions emitted by souls influence it. The mana existing in nature is quite vulnerable to its surroundings.
That's why commanders preparing for battle needed to closely monitor these mana fluctuations and purify excessive corruption when necessary.
'A typical berserker army.'
The commander of this fortress was undoubtedly drunk on blood, driving his forces further into frenzy.
Those who had fallen to the Sanguiros faith would never reject such power.
Saratan, sealed within the staff, grimaced and muttered.
-This is disgustingly unpleasant. I wish we could leave quickly.
"I heard tree spirits are skilled at purification. Is that not possible here?"
Saratan suddenly fell silent, as if pretending not to have heard the question.
"......"
Lee Han didn't say anything either.
Well, if he had purification abilities strong enough to cleanse a fortress of this massive scale, there'd be no reason for him to be sealed inside this staff in the first place.
'At that level, he wouldn't have been captured to begin with.'
-What?! What are you?!
The armed vampire warrior revenants flared their crimson eyes above their pale, fragmented faces.
They had finally noticed the intrusion of outsiders.
Lee Han remained calm. Having faced revenants several times in this area already, he was prepared.
"Calm down. I too am a noble from a vampire family."
'This kid's audacity is downright ridiculous.'
Hamster muttered inwardly.
Since it had worked once by sheer luck, this brat kept using the same trick two, three times over.
At this point, it made him curious instead.
Why were the revenants continuously falling for this?
At first, he thought they'd just run into particularly stupid revenants, but seeing how it kept working afterward, there must be some other reason.
However, Hamster's pondering didn't last long. A sharp voice cut through.
-You do seem like a vampire family noble... but I've never seen your face in this fortress before! How do we know you're not some traitor siding with the Empire?!
"Uh-oh."
Lee Han was momentarily flustered by the unexpected reaction.
He hadn't anticipated this kind of response.
'Well, even if I look like a vampire noble, appearing with an unfamiliar face in the middle of a siege would naturally raise suspicions.'
There must have been vampire nobles who, realizing their disadvantage during the rebellion, surrendered to the Empire...
The revenants were poised to attack at the slightest hint of distrust. Lee Han pondered deeply—whether to strike first with magic or if there was another way.
Right then.
Movement stirred outside the fortress.
'Did the professors emerge from the shadow dimension?!'
Startled, Lee Han wondered if he should apologize now for ignoring their warnings.
At the very least, he'd have to send them back to the shadow dimension first before doing anything else.
Fortunately, it wasn't the professors causing the commotion. It was the Undead and his priestly retinue.
"Move quickly!"
The Undead commanded in an icy voice.
From the bishop's perspective, this reaction was only natural.
While they had been locked in fierce combat, that mage had suddenly slipped into the newly appeared fortress—how could they not find that suspicious?
The Undead had no choice but to assume the mage was up to something.
And to uncover and counter that scheme, they had to follow him into the fortress.
"Do not fear them. They are mindless revenants! Mere shadows of the past!"
-More intruders! They must be the Empire's vanguard! Lure them in and unleash a simultaneous attack!
-You! Aren't you with those intruders outside?!
The vampire revenants reacted violently, interrogating Lee Han again.
If there was even the slightest hint of association, they seemed ready to execute him on the spot.
Flustered, Lee Han quickly shouted.
"I came here to report their intrusion!"
-!
"My unauthorized entry into the fortress was unavoidable. Otherwise, I couldn't have warned you of their approach."
-Indeed...
The revenants murmured among themselves before nodding in understanding.
-You may pass. You are no traitor to our kin!
Lee Han let out a sigh of relief and stepped forward. Behind him, the vampire revenants launched a coordinated assault beyond the fortress walls.
The Undead cursed furiously as he raised his defenses. The onslaught was so fierce that one priest had to expend his entire life force just to hold the line.
When that mage went in, they were blindly swinging at the air like fools—I thought it was fine!
'That damn mage... He clearly knows something! What a bastard!'
From figuring out the location of this dimension to controlling the undead and freely entering their territory.
Though it was closer to an unintended stroke of luck for Lee Han himself, to the Undead, it seemed as though this mage was holding secrets even the Bishop didn't know.
Just what kind of secret could it be...
Unaware of the Undead's delusions below, Lee Han wiped the sweat from his brow.
"I mustn't let my guard down. I never expected the deranged undead to ask such questions."
'But wasn't it too natural for them to offer up a scapegoat like that?'
The Hamster felt slightly uneasy.
For a mage facing an unexpected situation, they had far too naturally sacrificed others as scapegoats.
If this was them being careless, then what would being careful even look like?
-Where is that assassin?
-We locked him up in the fortress dungeon. But do you really think negotiations are possible? It might be a trick.
-...Of course, but there's nothing to lose by trying. That mad mage's army is far too powerful.
"?!"
The vampire undead they encountered in the middle floors of the fortress this time were dressed entirely differently.
While the undead below seemed like mere warriors, these ones clearly gave off the air of nobility.
Having studied various methods while assisting Professor Verdus in the Enchantment Magic department, Lee Han could tell just how expensive those clothes were.
The vampire nobles' signature attire—crimson silk embroidered thread by thread with magical patterns—required an exorbitant amount of gold coins.
'If they didn't just inscribe magic but went as far as embroidering patterns to achieve magical effects, the cost would be dozens of times higher, wouldn't it?'
At the very least, they seemed to be the rebellion's leadership within this massive fortress.
Those of such status couldn't possibly be mere warriors.
-There's an assassin?
The Hamster was puzzled.
The rebellion of the western vampires was something even the Hamster knew about, but he had never heard of an assassin infiltrating this rebel fortress.
Someone like Gonadaltes would have more than enough imperial forces and subordinates to strangle them without needing to send an assassin. That wasn't Gonadaltes' style.
"Hmm. I have a bit of a guess right now..."
-??
While the two whispered, the noble undead ahead began moving again.
It seemed they intended to retrieve the assassin from the dungeon for negotiations.
The Hamster muttered.
-If they mean the mad mage, it should be Gonadaltes. But negotiating with a mere assassin is strange. Could their memories be distorted? It's entirely possible...
Lee Han already had a suspect in mind but didn't bother telling the Hamster.
The vampire nobles who had been moving ahead suddenly let out furious shouts.
-The dungeon has collapsed! They've invaded!
-You vile, lowly curs! Dishonorable mages with no sense of pride! And you call yourselves archmages?!
"!!!"
The vampire nobles were pointing at the collapsed entrance to the fortress dungeon, seething with rage.
The area around it was completely destroyed, clearly showing when the intruders had entered. Naturally, the assassin they had locked inside was gone.
'Come to think of it, those marks look similar to the weapons the Death Knights use.'
Lee Han thought as he observed the numerous sword marks near the entrance.
Somehow, it felt like the work of familiar knights!
The Hamster grew even more confused.
-What kind of clue is this supposed to be? A lead to the hidden magic in this fortress?
"I think so too. Let's check the dungeon."
Lee Han urged the Hamster to investigate the dungeon, wanting to confirm how Professor Voladi had ended up captured.
'I'm just trying to gather information from past memories. If there's hidden magic in this fortress, I might find a clue.'
He had absolutely no intention of later telling Professor Voladi, "You got yourself captured by acting recklessly too, didn't you, Professor!" Not even a little.