Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Fall of the Magic Tower
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***
"Your Excellency, this is a letter from the imperial palace."
Kami, the intelligence chief of the Valtre Marquis household, held out a scroll the size of his palm.
Valtre snatched it up and unfurled it without delay.
Letters floated into the air, rearranging themselves to form three words.
[Knight Jangjarban.]
[Destination: Magic Tower.]
[Companion: Altros.]
"...!"
Valtre's face hardened in an instant.
The Central Guard Knights' target wasn't the Julius Count family—it was the Magic Tower.
And with the emperor's guardian knight Jangjarban and Altros accompanying him, it meant they intended to wipe everything out without mercy.
They had clearly caught on to his connection with the Magic Tower.
What could have exposed the secret he'd hidden so carefully for so long?
'It has to be that bastard's doing.'
Sadi, the one Altros had attached to him—he must have uncovered something.
He'd heard the man wandered the castle grounds every dawn, and it seemed he'd finally found what he was looking for.
Despite all the warnings to be cautious around people.
"Idiotic fools."
Valtre scowled as he asked,
"Where's that rat bastard?"
"He's been holed up in his room since yesterday without moving."
"Confirm he's really in there. And tell the mage corps not to step outside the lab until I give the order."
"What about the Magic Tower? It's too valuable a force to just abandon."
"They've realized the Magic Tower joined hands with me. They just lack hard evidence to touch me. If we intervene needlessly, we risk getting caught by the emperor."
"If we move the third force, it should be safe..."
"You don't know what kind of man Ruan Barotas is. Besides, with Jangjarban and Altros on the move, they want results no matter what. Best to steer clear when the opponent's this riled up."
"Understood."
Kami bowed deeply and exited.
Valtre stared at the door after him, lost in thought.
With this turn of events, all plans involving the Magic Tower needed a complete overhaul.
After five years of effort, the fruits were just starting to ripen, and now the emperor had caught wind of it.
Was this the fate of one born under a cursed star?
'A damned fate, indeed.'
Valtre clenched his fist tight.
Before any more secrets leaked, he had to deal with the man Altros had sent.
But killing him here would cause problems too.
"How should I handle this...?"
Valtre's eyes grew icy.
***
"Out of my way!"
Each time Jangjarban swung his sword, a deep crimson aura blade flew forth.
Boom!
Golems and stone-formed gargoyles crumbled powerlessly.
Everyone gasped in awe at the sheer might of the man who had single-handedly shattered the Magic Tower's third barrier.
"As expected of the captain."
"Incredible."
"The Oscar Empire's guardian deity!"
Admiring murmurs rose from all around.
Even Altros was inwardly astonished by Jangjarban's prowess.
'It surpasses my expectations.'
It far exceeded the level of sword master he had known.
For a moment, he wondered if the man had reached the Grand Sword Master realm.
He controlled his presence so freely that he surely wasn't showing his full power.
If his guess was right, Jangjarban might even be stronger than him, an 8th Class mage.
Jangjarban, approaching after dispatching the golems, felt like a mountain.
'A man who puts me on edge... It's been a while.'
The corner of Altros's mouth twitched upward.
Jangjarban sheathed his sword and asked,
"Is this the end of the barriers?"
"Yes. I'll take it from here—just watch."
"Understood."
Altros rode forward leisurely.
He extended his hand toward the cloudy mist and murmured ancient runes in a low voice.
A pure white light bloomed from his palm, devouring the fog.
"Whoa~."
"No way~."
Exclamations erupted everywhere.
Where the mist had cleared stood a colossal tower piercing the heavens.
The cradle of magic, the nexus of mages.
The Magic Tower.
Its massive brown doors, larger than the palace gates, stood firmly shut.
The moment the barriers activated, they would have been alerted to the intruders.
Though unseen, they were surely watching from hiding.
Altros addressed the tower.
"Open the gates and receive me."
His quiet voice boomed like thunder from the sky.
The tower showed no reaction at first, but then came a heavy thud, followed by the grinding of mechanisms.
After a moment,
The giant doors began to creak open.
Dozens of mages in robes of every color emerged from the gap.
Leading them was a white-robed elderly man with silver hair, who approached Altros with a few others.
They bowed deeply in greeting.
"It's an honor to meet the Master."
Altros tilted his head and asked,
"Who are you?"
"I am Larsen, managing the Magic Tower since succeeding Master Tarun."
"Tarun stepped down? I've received no such report."
"A year ago, he entrusted the tower to me and left on a journey. He said he'd explain the reason upon his return."
"I see."
Altros's face darkened.
Tarun had been the most responsible among his disciples, devoted solely to magic with no involvement in politics—that's why he'd left the tower in his care.
And now, he'd abruptly gone wandering?
Frankly, Altros couldn't believe the report that the Magic Tower had allied with Marquis Valtre.
He'd planned to question Tarun directly, but seeing the men with Larsen made it unnecessary.
"Larsen, was it?"
"Yes."
"I'll be direct. Has the Magic Tower joined hands with Marquis Valtre?"
"Heavens, no. We gathered solely to pursue the study of magic."
"Then why did such rumors reach my ears?"
Larsen bowed his head and replied,
"It must be someone's scheme."
"A scheme... We'll see soon enough."
Altros rode slowly past Larsen, continuing,
"Do you know there's a 'Memorive' installed in the office? And why are the men with you drawing up mana the moment they hear that?"
"...!"
Larsen's eyes flashed wide.
He hadn't imagined a Memorive recording everything that happened there.
If they checked it, all their plans would be exposed.
'I have to stop them somehow!'
As Larsen agonized, the men with him whirled around and unleashed attack spells in unison.
"You fools!"
Larsen's face twisted.
Altros, meanwhile, smirked coldly.
Jangjarban watched the scene in silence.
As he'd suspected, most were 5th Class mages.
But their ambush was against the Magic Tower's master, Altros.
He wouldn't fall to something like this.
The Central Guard Knights shared the sentiment, their faces impassive.
Water arrows and fireballs rained down on Altros.
"Pathetic insects."
Altros scoffed and swept his arm.
A transparent barrier unfolded, blocking every incoming attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"What the—!"
"No casting at all!"
As eyes widened in shock,
"Lightning Bolt!"
Larsen thrust both arms toward Altros.
Arrows of light shot from all directions.
Just before they struck, an invisible shield deployed.
"Reactive Shield!"
Larsen's eyes bulged.
KABOOM!
A massive shockwave rippled outward.
Casting 5th Class magic without incantation meant he was truly 8th Class.
Such attacks couldn't fell him.
"Give it everything!"
At Larsen's shout, the mages chanted runes in unison, preparing their strongest assaults.
Water and fire materialized in their hands; the sky and earth responded.
"For daring to oppose me, pay with your lives."
Altros raised his right palm overhead and murmured runes softly.
"Power of darkness..."
A pitch-black aura welled from his palm, forming a small orb.
Larsen's jaw dropped at the sight.
"Th-that's..."
"I didn't expect anyone to recognize it."
Altros frowned as the mages unleashed their spells.
"Fire Storm!"
"Blizzard!"
"Binding!"
Tree roots erupted from the ground, seizing the horses' legs and Altros's own.
Flames and blizzards then raged around them.
Finally, Larsen unleashed his mightiest attack spell.
"Cloud Kill!"
A thunder-laden cloud formed above Altros, unleashing bolts of lightning.
Rumble! Boom!
The fire storm and blizzard engulfed him next.
The Central Guard Knights' stoic faces twisted at the spectacle.
But Jangjarban merely observed.
"To think they'd try this on me..."
Altros seethed at the 5th Class spells meant for him.
Murderous intent gleamed in his eyes.
The attacks pelted him from all sides but shattered against the Reactive Shield.
The small orb grew to fist size.
"Devour them all!"
Altros slammed his raised arm down, hurling the orb forward.
It clashed with the fire storm, sending shockwaves rippling.
They held evenly at first, but cracks spiderwebbed through the flames.
As the storm's wall shattered, the blizzard smothered the orb, freezing it solid like an iceberg.
But fissures formed at once, and it exploded.
Boom-!
Simultaneously, lightning crashed from the black cloud overhead.
Rumble! Boom!
The area blazed bright.
The bolt pierced the Reactive Shield, hurtling toward Altros's crown!
A moment from disaster!
Black aura surged from Altros's body.
The lightning dissipated into smoke upon contact.
"...!"
Larsen's eyes nearly popped as they met Altros's.
In that instant,
He glimpsed pitch-black light flashing in Altros's pupils.
"Y-you're..."
"Die."
Altros thrust his arm out.
The black aura shot like an arrow, piercing Larsen's skull.
At the same time, the orb—now swollen from absorbing the fire storm and blizzard—surged toward the mages.
"N-no..."
KABOOM!
A colossal blast unleashed a gale, sweeping everything away.
As the razor-sharp windstorm bore down on the Central Guard Knights!
Jangjarban drew and swung his sword in a flash.
The crimson aura blade cleaved the storm apart.
Its power vanished in an instant.
As the lingering fog thinned, Altros emerged.
His impassive face betrayed no emotion.
Only an impossibly deep crater yawned between him and Jangjarban.
Truly terrifying power.
"Urgh..."
Jangjarban let out an involuntary groan.
Altros offered a faint smile at his reaction.
"I've prepared something special for you. Watch closely."
He turned his mount toward the tower and spoke coldly.
"Those who make an enemy of the emperor meet only death."
He raised both arms skyward.
Black aura flickered like flames in his eyes.
The mages at the gates recoiled in horror at his dreadful presence.
"No way..."
"Beyond human limits..."
Despair gripped them all.
"Worthless vermin."
Altros hurled the black orb overhead toward them.
It swelled enormously, engulfing them.
KABOOM!
Thunder roared as lightning struck from the heavens.
Sparks danced across the tower's walls like an electric shock.
Moments later,
The Magic Tower crumbled in ruins.
'Those who stand against me meet only ruin.'
Altros curled his lip, gazing at the sight.
The Central Guard Knights reeled at the fall of the Magic Tower—a pillar of Oscar Empire history—destroyed in the blink of an eye by one man.
'Nothing but awe...'
Jangjarban, a man who pursued strength, looked upon Altros with respect.
At the same time, he recalled the runes Altros had murmured.
'Power of darkness...'