The Walking Magic Tower (1)

The moment I saw that message, every last ounce of strength drained out of my body. I barely managed to hold onto consciousness as it threatened to swallow me whole then and there.

"Hahh... hah... ugh..."

As Draconification released, my entire body trembled as though it were about to fall apart. I really almost died. Most of my flesh had already been ruined — skin melting away, muscles burned to char. If Marca had held out even a second longer, the loser would have been me.

Thinking that left me dizzy — and yet, strangely grateful. Even against an opponent of that caliber, somehow it had ended with only this much damage.

It's all thanks to all of you.

I forced my head up and stared at the ceiling of the labyrinth. The countless mages who had died up there. Because they had burned their own bodies to devour a substantial portion of Marca's soul, I had survived to bring him down at last.

Your deaths were never in vain. Rest in peace.

I offered a brief silent mourning, then — "Kgh..." — grimaced against the pain surging back in.

"Tae-hyun!"

"Tae-hyun, sir!"

Two women caught me as I crumpled.

"Good heavens...! Your injuries are far too severe!"

"Qu-quickly — the infirmary...!"

Baek Seo-ha and Karin fidgeted anxiously, stamping their feet in place. I managed a weak smile and shook my head as if it were nothing.

"I'm fine. More importantly—"

"KYAAAAAAAH! How dare you! How dare you do this to me!!"

Then it happened. Marca — reduced to nothing but a severed head — began shrieking in fury.

...What. Don't tell me the bastard still wasn't dead? What in the world was that life force made of?

"He truly is a stubborn one!"

"To do this to Tae-hyun... by my sword, I swear—"

The two of them snapped into guard stances, shielding me on either side. But the instant Marca looked at us, his expression hardened with startling speed. Then his mouth split into a grin wide enough to tear his face — aimed precisely at me.

"I acknowledge you, Sky Defier. I was defeated, and the plan to use the Ark to elevate the Legion's power has failed."

So that truly was the goal of the Advent Cult's UK branch.

"But do not think for a moment that I will surrender so easily."

"...What?"

"My soul is already worn down to nothing. To appear before the 'Prophet' in this state would be a disgrace. And so I now abandon any thought of survival."

That moment, sunlight so intense it stung the eyes came flooding in around him, gathering from every direction.

"Let us go together, Sky Defier!"

"You...! Don't tell me—?!"

"This is the final wish I can fulfill for the Iron Blood Dominion! I shall be buried here, together with you and your companions!"

Heat more ferocious than even his last attack coalesced into a single point.

That lunatic! Deus ex machina, and now this. Why did they always insist on self-destructing at the very end? And this one was a bomb paid for with the complete annihilation of his own soul, no less.

I'll die. Even without taking it head-on, merely being caught in the blast would make survival a gamble at best.

I turned my head and looked at the Ark. Even with its protective magic, could it really withstand Marca's assault? If I couldn't defend it, then everything the Tower's people and Diana had sacrificed would mean...

...Now is not the time to be weighing options, is it?

If I could save only one thing, then of course—

"Both of you, get behind me!"

My people come first.

"Y-yes?!"

"Kyah...!"

I drew the two of them back by the shoulders and stepped forward. And almost in the same breath—

A colossal explosion burst forth in a blaze of blinding light.

"All we can do is hope the Ark holds...!"

Just before the blast swallowed us whole, I poured mana into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my vambrace.

The trusty defense I had hoarded until the very last moment. A golden shield unfurled directly in front of us.

KUUUUUUUUNG!

A monstrous shockwave rippled out from the heart of the labyrinth. The ground heaved so violently I could barely stay on my feet, yet no direct blow touched us. The golden shield that would unconditionally block any attack, no matter how powerful, just once.

KAGAGAGAK!

The shockwave and searing heat failed to pierce it, dying out against the light.

A short while later—

As the shield faded, the wrecked interior of the labyrinth came into view. The walls had all been torn down, and the monsters in the vicinity seemed to have been wiped out entirely. Perhaps thanks to the labyrinth's peculiar nature, there had been no catastrophe of a caved-in ceiling or collapsed floor.

"Th-this attack... what in the world..."

"There's nothing left to worry about." I looked at Marca's head, which was gradually crumbling into powder. "It's over now."

"Urgh... you... you're... still... alive..."

He who had unleashed his final attack and now stood on the brink of utter annihilation regarded me with hollow eyes.

"Ha... haha... in the end... I..."

To that Marca, I walked over slowly.

"Tae-hyun...!"

"It's okay."

I gently lowered Baek Seo-ha's restraining hand, then knelt on one knee before the half-remaining head.

"...You should rest now. No — rest, please."

I remembered. What that nagging sense of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠déjà vu, prodding at some corner of my memory, truly was. Why this man's face had felt so strangely familiar.

"Chadwick."

A man from the world within the shard. A knight of the White Sun, and the one who had offered me the vice-captain's post. In the Tomb of the King, he had stood beside me against the King's avatar — and in the end, while escorting Wengrum, he had met his death at the Iron Blood Monarch's hand. A valiant knight, of some world far away.

"You were being used too, weren't you. Not as a knight — as a 'Cardinal.'"

"What... did... you... say...?"

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you sooner."

"Ah......"

In that instant, a faint focus returned to the dying eyes. His gaze sharpened, as if he had finally understood something.

"I will have my revenge on those who made you into this. That, I swear."

"......"

For some reason, I thought I could see a small smile lingering on the lips of the man who was slipping away.

Saaaah...

At last, the head crumbled completely into dust and was gone.

"...Rest well, Sir Chadwick."

And so, the sun entered a long slumber. Beneath the horizon, waiting for a signal that might erupt again at any moment—

The intruder of the Magic Tower. Marca, Cardinal of the Advent Cult, had been Chadwick — a knight from the world within the shard. Presumably he had been controlled by the Iron Blood Monarch in much the same way as when he commanded his knights, and modified in some fashion besides.

I'll think about that later.

Right now, I had to deal with the problems staring me in the face.

"The Ark... it's in better shape than I expected?"

Karin inspected the crystal sphere's condition. Quite a few cracks had spread across its surface, but the Ark itself had neither vanished nor broken apart. The protective magic woven by the mages of the past had thankfully done its job, but...

"...We'll have to repair it, and quickly."

Even this much was steadily coming apart, mana seeping out through the fissures. The very reason the Ark had been stored away with such extreme care was probably that it was a far more sensitive and delicate thing than it appeared.

Still. Let's take heart in the fact that it can be repaired.

I swiftly assessed the Ark's state, then, guided by Rir, headed for where Diana lay.

"Diana's still alive."

That was thanks to Baek Seo-ha telling me she'd confirmed it. But the moment I arrived and actually checked her condition, she was already on the verge of drawing her last breath.

"She's gotten worse...!"

Baek Seo-ha grimaced as she looked down at Diana's ashen face.

"At this rate, she won't last until we get outside."

Honestly, her being alive right now was a miracle in itself. Had her body not been that of a World Ranker, she would have died a hundred times over already.

At this level of injury, potions are meaningless. Unless it was an item of 'Bronze Bell' grade, saving Diana in her current state was impossible — and there was no way to obtain something that transcendent on the spot.

"What do we do..."

Then a thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

The reward for slaying the Cardinal!

Such a message had appeared, hadn't it? Right now, that was the only thing left to trust.

I'm claiming the special rewards!

The instant I willed it at the system, the rewards began streaming in one after another.

Every single one of them was enough to make my jaw hit the floor — but only one of them was visible to my eyes right now.

Grace of Restoration!

One glance told me it was an item tied to healing. I summoned it onto my palm at once. A jewel shaped like a droplet of water shimmered with a soft glow.

"This is it!"

With this, I could save Diana.

There's no way I'm letting her die like this. There was still so much left to get out of her. If not for my own sake, then for the sake of everyone who had sacrificed themselves for her — and for the sake of keeping the Magic Tower standing — I absolutely could not let her die here.

Paat!

The jewel's form blurred, and droplets of water seeped into Diana's body like a gentle rain. Little by little, her tattered husk of a body repaired itself, returning to what it had once been.

Watching the scene, Karin recoiled in wide-eyed shock.

"H-how did you do that?! You pulled someone back from the brink of death!"

"......"

Didn't you go through something rather similar yourself? Why the sudden astonishment.

Saaaaah!

Before long, Diana's body was fully restored. I let out a silent breath of relief, then moved to wake her.

"Wake up. It's all over now."

"......"

"Lady Diana?"

But she did not wake. It didn't feel like fainting, nor like sleep — her consciousness itself felt absent. A chill of dread crawled up my spine.

[Lord Tae-hyun.]

It was then that Wiz spoke to me.

[She... will not wake up.]

A feeling like my heart plunging through the floor.

...Why?

[The attack that 'Marca' person unleashed just now carried a power that interfered with the soul itself.]

[He forged his sword and every blade-strike from his own soul, so anyone who crossed it had their soul shaved away in turn.]

[The 'soul attack' aimed at you, Lord Tae-hyun, my two companions and I somehow managed to block together. But...]

[This lady had no one to shield her.]

Which meant...

[Seventy percent of her soul has already been damaged.]

[And the remainder is collapsing as we speak.]

So she would never wake up again — that was what he was telling me?

[...I am sorry.]

In that instant, I pictured Marca — no, Chadwick — in his final moments. His soul dissolving bit by bit until he died as nothing but dust. And Diana's soul was going to meet that exact same end?

Like hell it is.

Granted, there was no way I could ever condone what she had done. But everything hadn't been done just so she could be snuffed out this pointlessly.

Diana is elite combat power. If for no other reason than the coming war with the Iron Blood Legion, I could not lose her like this.

"...!"

I stared desperately down at her body — but regrettably, no 'salvageable soul' rose to meet me.

"So I can't even use 'Salvation'...!"

I had expected it, but it still stung. Salvation revived its target as a spirit body. For Diana, whose very soul was falling apart, it held little meaning.

Wiz.

[Yes.]

Anything at all. Find me some way — any way — to save this woman.

[Understood.]

As though she had predicted the question before I ever asked it, Wiz arrived at her conclusion almost instantly.

[Simulation complete. I have found a method with a 58% probability of saving her.]

Fifty-eight percent. An ambiguous number — but higher than a coin flip. More than enough to be worth trying.

What is it?

[Succession — I entrust a part of myself to this woman.]

Wiz laid out the method in rapid succession.

[I will inhabit her body directly and hold her crumbling soul in place, then devote a long stretch of time to discovering a 'method of perfect soul restoration.']

[Once I find it and restore her soul completely, I can return to your side, Lord Tae-hyun.]

[And since only a portion of me will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be transferred, functions such as 'Magic Creation' will remain fully usable. The part that stays behind needs nothing more than 'personality' and 'inquiry.']

In short: until a way to save Diana perfectly was found, Wiz would take over her body. Something like a state of cryogenic suspension.

[However... there is one problem.]

[To perform the partial succession, I must use 'Magic Creation' to build a spell capable of temporarily splitting my own soul.]

[And conjuring a spell of that caliber purely from nothing — with no foundation whatsoever — would take several months at the least, I'm afraid.]

How long until Diana's soul collapses completely?

[At most... three hours, I would say.]

Damn it all. So this route was useless too.

Kwaak! I clenched my fist so hard it trembled and ground my teeth against my lip.

Think. Some way — any way — to save Diana...

...Wiz.

[Yes.]

If I had reference materials... would that shorten the time it takes to create the spell?

[It would.]

Say it like you're certain.

[...Yes! I will make it possible!]

[But ordinary materials will never be enough.]

[If I had at least half the level of the Sages' 'Magic Vault,' I believe I could create it within three hours...]

Then there just might be a chance. Granted, it was a gamble.

But it beats sitting here doing nothing.

I steeled my resolve and forcibly dragged my leaden body upright.

"Seo-ha, Karin. There's somewhere we need to go."

"Yes? Where to...?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"To the Ark."

The ark that held nearly every spell in existence. If its depth was even half that of the 'Sages' — we could save Diana.

It's the only thing left to believe in.

The mages of Earth.