Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 259
>Chapter Title: Friend, Danger. No, If You Sit
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The panic lasted only a moment.
As soon as the sense of crisis hit, my mind cleared instead.
‘At least seven mages’ worth of presence.’
That left two candidates.
The Blizzard Storm Katrin, and… Holland, who had recently ascended to the Seven Mages.
Holland was by far the worst of the two, but with it now certain that the Decullans were gunning for the Ten Swords, either one spelled a hopeless situation all the same.
So, what to do?
‘…Bolt?’
With all these people in tow?
No way in hell.
The enemy would arrive here soon, and fighting in this narrow cave wasn’t ideal.
So…
‘One chance.’
Pierce the heart in a single strike.
With my resolve set, my thoughts expanded. In my fully opened transcendence, I gathered ambient mana. I drew magical power from the three circles resonating and fiercely rotating, wrapping it around my left hand.
Mana in my right hand.
Magical power in my left.
When I overlaid both hands and fused the energies…
Crackle, crackle—
A sinister bolt of lightning rose from my grip.
“…Tower Lord?”
Exstr called out, sensing something off, demanding an explanation, but instead of answering, I focused my mind on the annihilation gathered in my hand.
Annihilation flickering more destructively than ever before.
Would this be enough?
‘…No, not yet.’
A mage heading into war arms themselves with every tool imaginable.
What I needed to pierce wasn’t just a barrier.
Against an ordinary mage, I wouldn’t bother with defenses from artifacts, but my opponent was one of the Seven Mages.
…More destructive.
‘And sharper.’
The annihilation responded to my will, slowly taking shape.
It was a single bolt of lightning.
No, more precisely, a spear of lightning.
Now it didn’t matter if it was Holland or Katrin.
Whoever it was, the moment they set foot in this cave, their heart would be pierced, leaving them a corpse.
That’s when I finished my preparations.
A sudden rush of heat.
Roooar—
I scattered the lightning and swallowed a curse as crimson flames poured into the cave. At the same time, I raised a barrier to shield everyone in the cave from the fire demon.
‘…Fucking hell.’
This crazy bastard.
Flinging spells right off the bat?
Trying to kill everyone?
There was no disappointment over the ambush going up in smoke so easily. Just pure frustration.
Because I hadn’t expected them to come out swinging this aggressively.
But the real kicker was something else.
When the flames finally died down, uninvited guests stepped into the depths of the cave. But there weren’t just one of them.
…Two.
I scowled, taking in the two intruders.
‘…These guys.’
I had expected Holland and Katrin, the ones known to have joined the war. But both were unexpected faces.
One was…
“Heh heh, come on now. What if you just blast away like that? What about the hostages?”
Zaipo, Ruler of the Earth.
And the other…
“Don’t we just need the Ten Sword? Better to clear out the useless trash.”
Kokusen, the ‘Double Master’ who wielded the powers of wind and fire.
‘Why these two?’
No, that wasn’t important right now.
What mattered was that two of the Seven Mages were here together.
No wonder the presence felt off. Were they masking the second one’s aura?
I’d assumed the worst, but the situation was spiraling even worse.
* * *
Exstr, the captain, was the first to react to the arrival of the two Seven Mages.
“…Zaipo, Kokusen.”
His voice was quiet, but in the silence, everyone heard it clearly.
Tension thick enough to suffocate settled over the space.
And with good reason—two Seven Mages together in one place.
The White Shield Knights were brave, but no one could stay composed facing two Ten Sword-level powerhouses.
Yet, making a mockery of their tension, Zaipo and Kokusen were utterly relaxed.
The two old mages entered the cave, swept their gazes over the group, then shifted their eyes to the masked figure.
Kokusen spoke first.
“Hey, Zaipo. Didn’t you say it was a Ten Sword? Since when can a mage climb to the Ten Swords?”
They’d come expecting a Ten Sword, only to find a mage, so the confusion was plain.
“Heh heh, I never confirmed it was a Ten Sword. I just figured it might be, given the skill at hiding their presence.”
“Same difference.”
“Want to hear an old man’s excuses? I’ve got plenty.”
“Ugh, tch. What’re you even saying.”
Kokusen shot Zaipo a glare and strode forward.
Intending to rip off the mask and reveal the mage’s identity.
That’s when Zaipo’s voice rang out.
“Hey, step back a bit.”
“Ah, why?”
“We should talk first, shouldn’t we? Can’t just jump straight to fighting?”
“Talk? What talk…?”
Kokusen started to snap back at the restraint but then seemed to catch on, chuckling with a smirk.
“Aha, right. Talk? Yeah, let’s talk. Talking’s good.”
“Heh heh, exactly. Who knows? Might just be a lucky wandering mage. And not some ordinary one either. If we can resolve it with words, we should.”
“Yeah, yeah. I was too hasty.”
As Kokusen stepped back silently, Zaipo advanced and spoke.
“Let’s see… This old man would like to chat a bit. What say you, masked mage? Up for it?”
“…”
The masked mage didn’t reply.
Silence was about to blanket the group when the masked mage spoke up shortly after.
“Do as you like.”
Zaipo smiled, looking pleased at the response.
“Good, a reasonable sort. Well then… Talks might drag on, and we can’t just sit on the bare ground. Ah, that’ll do.”
Zaipo snapped his fingers.
Crunch—
Moments later, stones from the floor burst up, forming a table and chairs.
Zaipo sat in one of the chairs and gestured to the masked mage.
“Sit.”
But for some reason.
Zaipo’s eyes, offering the seat to the masked mage, gleamed like a snake’s.
And as Aster, the masked mage, stared straight into those eyes, the wyvern’s voice echoed in his mind.
[Friend, danger. No, if you sit.]
Even the earth spirit had sensed some trick in the chair Zaipo had conjured.
But.
Step, step.
Aster ignored the wyvern’s warning and took the seat. He had no choice.
Because.
Zaipo’s gleaming eyes were fixed on Exstr, Britra, and the others.
“Heh heh, wise choice. Now, shall we begin?”
* * *
“So, who are you?”
To the first question, Aster answered calmly.
“The owner of the Magic Tower.”
“…What? You? The Magic Tower’s owner?”
Zaipo couldn’t hide his shock at Aster’s unexpected identity.
He hadn’t imagined running into the one who’d screwed over the Decullans with Infinite Chain right here.
“I thought you were just some wandering mage who stumbled in. Guess not. Heh heh. So, Tower Lord, what brings you here? Joining the war, perhaps?”
“Something like that.”
“Then you must be here to rescue the captain? Seems you and Lortel are quite close. Closest allies, eh?”
“You could say that.”
The answers were curt, but Zaipo pressed on without a hint of irritation.
Kokusen tossed in pointless personal questions now and then, but they meant nothing.
…At least on the surface.
‘…Ten minutes should be plenty.’
He was waiting.
For Earth Bind.
For that spell to fully seep into the Tower Lord’s body.
Earth Bind was a spell he’d crafted over a lifetime, a restraint that canceled the target’s magic once they sat.
It activated the moment they sat, but the longer they stayed seated, the longer the effect lingered even after standing.
And the effect’s duration grew with sitting time.
As Zaipo bided his moment, the Tower Lord spoke up.
“Enough pointless Q&A. How long?”
“What do you mean? Surely you don’t think you can buy your way out with…”
“No, how long do I need to sit?”
“What…?”
A crack spread across Zaipo’s ever-calm face. Meanwhile, the Tower Lord tapped the chair and smiled.
Invisibility magic hid his silhouette, but Zaipo could tell he was smiling.
Anyway, the Tower Lord spoke with that smile.
“How long do you figure? Ten minutes? Twenty? I’ll sit as long as you want. But there’s a condition.”
“…Hah!”
Zaipo finally burst into hollow laughter at the arrogance.
“You knew? And you sat anyway?”
“What’s so special about it?”
“Heh.”
Zaipo’s lip twisted at the jab to his pride.
“Heh heh, didn’t I say? Earth Bind or whatever, it’s nothing special.”
“Shut it. Ugh, tch.”
After glaring at Kokusen’s jab, Zaipo turned back to the Tower Lord.
And he dropped all pretense.
“Fine, if you know the intent, no need to beat around the bush. Just sit for ten minutes. Then we can wrap this up without tiring ourselves out.”
The Tower Lord knowing about Earth Bind was surprising, but it didn’t change the situation.
Earth Bind was just a tool to make an easy task even easier.
But then.
“Zaipo.”
“Heh heh, speak.”
“I like it tiring.”
“Still resisting to the end? With all these people to protect?”
Zaipo could no longer stay relaxed.
Even with Kokusen beside him, tangling with a presumed Ten Sword-level foe was exhausting.
As he steeled himself, the Tower Lord shook his head slowly.
“That depends on you. Didn’t I say there’s a condition?”
“A condition?”
“Let the small fry go. Then you, Kokusen, and me. The three of us talk. Do that, and I’ll sit here however long it takes.”
In other words, release the White Shield Knights.
Zaipo couldn’t help but scoff at the proposal.
“Hah, why would we?”
“Why?”
A rupture echoed through the space right then.
Crunch…
As the magical power from the Tower Lord’s hand shattered Earth Bind, his voice boomed through the cave.
“If not… I promise you this. Kokusen aside…”
His eyes flicked to Kokusen before locking onto Zaipo, unleashing immense killing intent.
The Tower Lord said.
“You’ll die by my hand.”
That killing intent… was denser and more sinister than anything Zaipo had ever felt.