Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: The Five Pillars (12)
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This time, the vision left even greater aftereffects. Even after barely managing to sit up on the edge of the bed, Kadim stayed frozen like a statue, fingers tightly interlocked, for a long while.
"……."
This was already the third time he'd witnessed such a vivid vision. And yet, the reason it unsettled him as much as the first time was clear. It was the words he'd heard from the council chairman yesterday.
'She might... still be alive.'
The possibility that Melissa was still alive.
Unfortunately, the truth behind those words was nothing more than uncertain rumors.
'It came from some traveler, they say. People who've been to the great southern forests have all reported strange phenomena. One saw an enormous tree, another witnessed the sky crumbling down, and someone else... claimed to have encountered a mysterious red-haired woman versed in magic...'
Forests that vast and deep had a way of playing tricks on the human mind. And since it was also the hidden abode of elves who had withdrawn from the world... even if someone truly met such a woman, the odds it was Melissa were vanishingly small.
But... when you desperately long for something, doesn't the human heart make you want to grasp at even the slimmest chance?
To determine whether the chairman's words were meaningless gossip or a flickering ember of hope, there was one verification process he had to undergo.
Visit Melissa's tomb in the lowest level of the Magic Tower and pry open the lid of her coffin.
"……."
Now he had one more reason to head to the lowest level. Fortunately, he was prepared. He'd gathered all five pillars, the keys to the secret passage.
At that moment, a faint memory from yesterday resurfaced. After his meeting with the chairman, he'd made a promise with Coltran to use the secret passage the very next day.
'I spent the night shaken by that vision... so we can leave right now.'
All the pillars were safely stored in his inventory. As he rose to prepare for departure,
Suddenly, he felt a faint, unnatural brush against the air.
Screeech—!
"Gah!"
Thinking it was another attacker, Kadim swung Blood Ghost, but he halted the blade upon hearing a familiar yelp.
"……What are you doing, Duncan? Why are you wearing that cloak inside the room?"
"Eek, ah, no, it's... I was worried about another mage attack like last time... so I was secretly standing guard... "
The peddler, shrugging off the hem of his Night Shadow Cloak, revealed himself. In just one night, Duncan looked a decade older, utterly haggard. Kadim lowered his sword hilt and furrowed his brow slightly.
"Did something happen in the Magic Tower yesterday? Why do you look like that?"
"Whew... Yes... a whole lot happened, milord... a tremendous amount..."
Only after confirming Kadim was lucid did he finally relax. With a deep sigh, he plopped down on the edge of the bed and began spilling everything that had happened yesterday, holding nothing back.
Sneaking into the depths of the Magic Tower... discovering mages transporting demon corpses... getting caught while tailing them... pretending to be a high mage to survive and miraculously extracting information...
It was the stuff of legends he'd retell for a lifetime, but Duncan showed no trace of excitement. The trauma from the attack the day before hadn't even healed, and now he'd faced one crisis after another, leaving him utterly exhausted.
Still, it hadn't been pointless toil. The information Duncan had uncovered was invaluable.
"The mages mix demon corpses with other materials and human body parts to create 'manastones.' They embed them in their hearts and squeeze out 'mana'... In other words, mana is diluted demon essence, just enough not to possess the user. That's its true nature."
"……After the 'ancient mana' depleted, they've been using magic this way all along, and the current Lord of the Tower invented it. But ahem, that current lord... is also the previous lord. And the one before that, even further back."
"……Meaning, every lord since the first has been... the same person. Maintaining near-immortal life through some method, ruling this tower for centuries. Whether it's grand sorcery or a demon pact... no one knows."
"……."
He hadn't uncovered the full truth about the demon outbreak or ancient mana, but this was enough. It clearly revealed who held all the keys.
The successor who distorted and slandered Melissa's legacy, the culprit behind the Magic Tower's current corruption, the enigmatic lord evading death to reign over the mages—and likely the one hunting the traces Kadim left by slaying the central demon in Soltana.
……Before leaving, Kadim resolved to confront this 'Lord of the Tower.'
Of course, more pressing matters came first. The barbarian gave a resolute nod to the shrunken peddler who'd fulfilled his role.
"Well done, Duncan. You've splendidly completed your duty as the 'greatest guide.' I'll never forget the efforts you put in this time."
"Ah... ahem, heh. What, milord? It's nothing... Whew, turns out those mages aren't all that impressive after all..."
The weariness melted from Duncan's face, replaced by an awkward grin. Being acknowledged by this mighty warrior still filled the peddler with indescribable joy and pride. And this time, it wasn't mere praise—he'd contributed to the continent's fate...
……He'd long forgotten that guiding him to the Magic Tower had already fulfilled his duty.
For now, Kadim focused on reaching the lowest level. Since he hadn't crushed that rival elder's skull yesterday, more interference might come on the way to the secret passage.
With possible reattacks, he told Duncan to stay hidden as before. He tightened his shoulder guards and boot laces, checked his gear, grabbed his inventory, and was about to step out when...
Whiiiiiir, clunk, clunk, clunk...
Roooaaar, boom, boooom, rumbliiing—!
……Sudden clamor erupted from the window.
Kadim frowned faintly.
"What the hell is that noise?"
As if it were a bad omen, Duncan hemmed and hawed before speaking.
"Uh... a typhoon's hit, milord..."
*
The miraculous city of Vesta.
At the entrance to the Magic Tower, the sacred bastion overlooking the grand city.
Two groups, each numbering around a hundred, faced off across the barrier wall marking its boundary.
Grrrumble, grrrumble, grrr...
Whiiiiiish... rooooaaaar...
The murky green sky vibrated unstably, as if ready to collapse. Gale-force winds carrying the ocean's fury whipped through, lashing with needle-sharp rain. Waves battered the docks, sewers overflowed, and the city streets turned to muck, blurring the line between land and water.
Yet the robed groups remained untouched by the rain.
Roooaaar of black flames—!
One side had unfurled a blazing black inferno canopy overhead, vaporizing every raindrop on contact.
Craaaack of ice—!
The other had erected a frigid ice veil roof, freezing every falling drop solid.
"“…….”"
"“…….”"
Unlike the heavens raging in fury, a heavy silence hung between the opposing mages. It wasn't the quiet of having nothing to say, but the void born from clashing wills of overwhelming magnitude.
Such standoffs couldn't last forever. Soon, an elderly man stepped forward, radiating cold murderous intent.
"What is the meaning of this, Oklamud? The seekers of mystery wish to enter the Magic Tower, and you dare block us?"
Coltran Spellasion, third seat of the Magic Tower council, the Frozen Heart.
Facing him advanced an elder wreathed in seething black hatred.
"That's my question to you, Coltran... What the hell do you think you're doing? Bringing a beastly barbarian into the sacred Magic Tower and letting him rampage? Have you no respect for this bastion of mystery?"
Oklamud, first seat of the Magic Tower council, the Black Rock Inferno.
Coltran betrayed not the slightest flicker of emotion. He smirked twistedly, feigning ignorance.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. What has Kadim done? If anything, the truly beastly one seems to be whoever threw a fit at yesterday's auction like a sore loser..."
"Shut your mouth! You think I don't know you unleashed that barbarian to kill my disciple and subordinates and steal the 'pillars'?"
"Pffahaha... Make sense, Oklamud. How could a mere mortal without a manastone slay mages single-handedly? Ah, perhaps your disciples lacked their master's wisdom and never learned proper defensive spells?"
"Wh-what! You worthless cur!!!"
―――― Roooaaar of black flames—!!
The black flame canopy raged in frenzy, its fury so immense it dried even the storm's humidity. Only the desperate intervention of surrounding mages restrained Oklamud's wrath.
"Huff, huff... In any case! Until you hand over that barbarian and his 'pillars'! Not one of you sets foot in the Magic Tower! No, entrusting the tower's treasures—crafted by the founding lord—to some ignorant savage was absurd from the start!"
"……."
At those words, Coltran's eyes narrowed sharply.
True, he'd entrusted all the 'pillars' to Kadim, but Oklamud had no way of knowing that. And Kadim had said he'd been attacked first the day before that—which meant someone had tipped off Oklamud about him...
Coltran shot a birdlike glare at his allies. They returned looks of confusion or tense uncertainty.
A traitor among them was unwelcome... but rooting one out mid-confrontation was impossible. He inwardly lamented and turned back.
"……A barbarian isn't something to dismiss outright. If their faith runs deep and their abilities suffice."
"Kehahaha, what nonsense. No, I've got it wrong. It suits you perfectly! A hack ice peddler who lucked into a council seat with a single formula—befitting to have an illiterate savage as your lackey!"
Now it was Coltran's turn to rage. The icy mask cracked with fissures. Seeing the enemy's agitation for the first time, Oklamud crowed triumphantly.
"Kehahaha, wake up, fool! Even if you read the founding lord's records, you'll never master the 'ancient grand sorcery'! That ultimate mystery that depleted all 'ancient mana' in one cast—how could a dull brute like you comprehend it?"
Every mage flinched and turned at those words.
It was a secret known only to the lord and elders. Oklamud, intoxicated by excitement, pressed on unaware.
"Listen well, Coltran! The only one fit to master that grand sorcery and become the tower's new hegemon is me! Black Rock Inferno Oklamud! Your pathetic ice shards won't even freeze ditchwater before evaporating in hellfire! If you want bones left for an urn, pull back your minions now and hand over the barbarian and 'pillars'..."
Arrogance flooded from the elder like a breached dam, but a covertly cast spell—not a sharp retort—cut him off.
"[……Sequeren, Elcados.]"
⟨ Icicle Storm ⟩
As cracked lips finished the incantation, the air chilled.
Those who looked skyward in dread beheld it.
It was fluttering icicles.
A spike brimming with bone-chilling sharpness. Claws from all directions, fused with raging winds. A heavenly calamity primed to pierce flesh and bone.
―――――― Screeech, screeech, screeeeech—!
Hundreds of tons of whipping rain froze into razor-sharp icicles, plummeting to earth. They pierced the blazing canopy, mercilessly raining on the mages guarding the tower entrance.
――――― Thud, thump, thumpthumpthump!!
"Uh, uhhh..."
"Gaaaaah!!"
"Aaaagh!! Aaaaaagh!!!"
Mages pierced through heads, throats, and chests by ice tips collapsed one by one. Oklamud's side suffered significant losses from the surprise strike. Coltran intoned coldly, like an ancient glacier.
"A gift to cool your head, Oklamud. You seem overly excited."
It backfired. Infernal rage blazed in Oklamud's pupils.
"[Keruna! Grun!! Enkaris!! Mol!! Kalbakatan!!!]"
⟨ Black Flame Eruption ⟩
―――― Boooom—!!
Black flames coalesced into orbs and erupted upward, shattering the frozen icicle storm with devastating shock and heat.
Oklamud, drenched in falling ice shards, chanted relentlessly. Black fire soon bloomed on the ground, charging like starved wolves toward the enemy lines.
Roooaaar—!
"Gaaaaah..."
"Urghhhh..."
Unsuspecting frontline mages became fuel for the flames. Nearby mages froze solid, staring at the charred stains that were comrades moments ago.
Mages on both sides of the barrier plunged into terror and chaos. But the elders, eyes mad for the ultimate mystery, bellowed undeterred.
"Hear me, seekers of extreme ice!! Turn those firewood-stirring wretches into sashimi!! The key to the lowest level is ours!! Breach them, and the ultimate mystery is ours!"
"E, [Eldra, Preor, Seltan, En, Ersinio…….]"
"[Eldra, Xanik, Mol, Kalpenta, Meldrixas…….]"
"Burn every last idiot who'll freeze that barbarian's piss!! They can't do shit without entering the tower!! No fleeing!! I'll personally torch anyone who retreats!!"
"Hic, [Keruna, Grun, Ketillis, Apikkanto…….]"
"K-Ke, [Keruna, Grun, Agripa, En…….]"
Terrorized by the elders' fury, mages reflexively began chanting. Mana surged from squeezed hearts, mysteries forming on their tongues.
As incantations completed, cold and heat clashed.
Crackcrackcraaaack, shattershatter—!
Roooaaar, boooom—!
Blue ice and black flames danced in passionate fury.
Ice arrows rained on the translucent barrier. Flame vortices downed cold projectiles. Frozen spikes thrust up through flagstones like thorns. Surging black flames exploded, scattering embers like fireworks.
Boooom!! Rooooaaar—!
Craaaack, rooooaaar...
The unstable weather joined the fray. Winds carried unreachable flames and snapped distant icicles, twisting the battle unpredictably. Mingled rain froze to sleet then steamed away, drenching the scene in damp haze.
Billowing white mist might have looked like nature's rapture from afar. But those in the thick of it had no such luxury.
For that rapture reeked of blood.
Thud, thump, thud—!
"Urk, gaaaaah!!"
Boooom—!
"Hngh, urk, uhhh..."
Pierced, frozen, necrotized, charred, or blasted corpses littered like broken dolls. Mages' pupils shrank to pinpricks; half-mad, they muttered incantations.
With elders joining fully, the battlefield swelled to catastrophic scale.
――――――― Boooom, boooom—!!
Ice and flame storms clashed, mocking nature's laws with earth-shaking force. Prior skirmishes seemed child's play as the cataclysm razed a city corner.
Nearby citizens poured out in droves. Hearts pounding from the roar froze cold as corpses upon sighting the unnatural vortex.
"Wh-what's that sound?"
"What's happening... Gah!"
"Kyaaaah!!"
No one in Vesta was unaware mages wielded immense power. But knowing and witnessing up close were worlds apart. Terror-stricken folk forgot the typhoon, fleeing heedlessly outdoors.
"Uwaaaah!!"
"R-run awaaaay!!"
"Everyone, flee! As far as you can!"
But one man headed toward the chaos's heart, against the evacuating tide.
A giant unmoved by face-lashing gales.
Kadim watched the ice-and-flame dance shaking the ground and muttered simply.
"……What a mess."
Clinkclink, the small lantern in his hand rattled wildly in the wind.