The First Dimensional Rift (9)
Above Roimdel’s head, one meter in the air, the crystal golem’s fist came to a halt.
No—halted wasn’t the right word.
The golem’s entire arm had locked up. Its massive body, built from crystal, trembled in fine, violent shivers.
“This is…”
Roimdel lifted his head and stared up at the golem.
At the crystal golem’s chest.
Right where the tiny crack he had made with Genesis Flash now burned with pure white flame.
Crack, crack, crack——!
The fracture spread at frightening speed.
One small split branched outward like a spiderweb, splitting the golem’s crystal body apart in every direction.
“Back! Everyone, fall back!”
Roimdel shouted urgently.
The mages who had collapsed moments ago staggered to their feet and retreated. The severely injured, too weak to move on their own, were helped away by their comrades.
Crack—! Crack—!
The fissures widened. The lines that had started in the chest raced to the shoulders, the arms, the legs.
And then—
Fzzzt——!
Light burst from the center of the crystal golem’s chest, from the heart of it. Brilliant white radiance leaked through the cracks and lit the entire monster from within.
“The core…!”
The white-bearded old mage gasped at the sight.
The light bleeding from the golem’s core grew brighter and brighter, as though a sun were exploding inside it.
BOOOOOOM——!
At last, with a tremendous blast, the crystal golem’s upper body shattered into pieces.
Transparent shards sprayed outward, catching the light as they flew, and for a moment it looked as though a thousand stars had fallen from the sky.
Thud——!
The golem’s lower half dropped to one knee. Its vast legs, left alone without the upper body, held on for a heartbeat longer before...
Rumble——
Slowly, it toppled to the side.
The ground shook. The impact of a 50-meter monster collapsing sent a shockwave through the surrounding trees, bending them like grass in the wind.
“…”
“…”
No one could speak.
The monster that even the Blue Rose Magic Tower Master could not stop, the monster that Roimdel’s Genesis Flash had only managed to crack slightly—
was now broken apart completely.
“Did we… succeed?”
One mage asked cautiously.
“We succeeded… we really did…”
Another mage said it in disbelief.
Then—
“Woooooaaah——!”
A young mage from Blue Rose let out a cheer. That single cry became the spark, and the others followed one by one, their voices rising into a roar.
“We won!”
“We did it! We really did it!”
“We’re alive… We survived!”
Just moments ago, they had all been braced for death.
Relief at being alive, pride at having defended Vilheim Magic Tower, and for the Blue Rose mages, the satisfaction of having avenged their tower master—all those emotions surged through them at once, and tears of joy spilled down their faces.
Roimdel watched the scene and slowly let out a long breath.
“...Grace.”
He looked toward the rear of Vilheim Magic Tower.
The enormous red magic circle was already losing its light and fading away.
“Let’s go.”
Roimdel leaned on his staff and pushed himself upright. His legs were shaking, but he could still walk.
“Chief! Your condition—”
The white-bearded old mage hurried over in concern.
“I’m fine. This much is...”
Roimdel trailed off and started walking toward the back of Vilheim Magic Tower. The other mages slowly began following him.
***
The moment the magic circle fired, I was slammed backward by the recoil.
“Urgh...!”
I rolled across the ground and barely managed to stop myself.
“Tower Master!”
Lia rushed over and supported me.
“Are you all right? There’s blood—!”
Blood was running from my nose and mouth. I had exhausted too much mana forcing the magic circle and the beads together.
“I’m fine... Did it work?”
I asked in a trembling voice.
“Yes! It hit its mark!”
Alberte shouted, his voice quivering with excitement.
“Right in the crystal golem’s chest...! And now...”
BOOOOOM——!
An explosion sounded in the distance.
“It’s collapsing! The crystal golem is completely shattered!”
Sophia cried out, tears streaming down her face.
“We really did it, Tower Master! We really did it!”
Carlos clenched his fist and cheered, his whole body trembling with relief.
“...Yeah.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
We had succeeded.
We had defended Vilheim Magic Tower.
When I leaned back for a moment, trying to rest, a familiar voice came from behind me.
“Grace!”
I turned around to see Roimdel walking toward me, leaning on his staff. Behind him, dozens of mages followed.
They were all covered in wounds.
Their robes were torn, stained with blood. And yet their faces were full of relief and joy—relief that they had survived.
“Chief Roimdel...”
I tried to stand, but my legs gave out and I stumbled.
“Don’t get up. You must be exhausted too.”
Roimdel stopped in front of me.
Silence fell for a moment.
And then—
“Thank you.”
Roimdel bowed deeply.
“If it hadn’t been for you... we would all be dead. Vilheim Magic Tower, and the mages of Blue Rose as well.”
His voice trembled.
“We promised you an hour, but we only held for fifty minutes. I’m sorry, Grace.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“That was enough. Without those fifty minutes, we couldn’t have completed the circle.”
“But—”
“And Chief.”
I looked Roimdel straight in the eye.
“Don’t blame yourself for not keeping the promise. We survived because you and the mages held that line with your lives.”
Roimdel’s eyes reddened.
“You’re... truly...”
He couldn’t finish the sentence and turned his face away.
“Chief! Tower Master Grace!”
At that moment, the white-bearded old mage came hurrying over.
“We’ve finished confirming the dead. Vilheim Magic Tower: 22. Blue Rose Magic Tower: 8... a total of 30...”
His voice caught in his throat.
“...”
Roimdel closed his eyes. Thirty. The mages who had been unable to withstand the mana backlash during the defense and had fallen.
“Their sacrifice won’t be in vain.”
Roimdel spoke slowly.
“In the name of Vilheim, and Blue Rose Magic Tower, I thank the Tower Master of Fusion who fought beside us today.”
He bowed deeply once more, and all the mages behind him bent at the waist as one.
“Thank you, Tower Master Grace!”
The voices of more than seventy people rang together as one.
***
About two hours had passed since the crystal golem was destroyed.
The situation was being brought under control, and treatment for the wounded was in full swing.
The infirmary of Vilheim Magic Tower was packed with injured mages. Internal injuries from mana backlash, fractures, burns—the list went on.
And in a meeting room, Roimdel, Rosa—the chief mage of Blue Rose—and I gathered together.
“...”
“...”
The three of us sat in silence for a long while.
Blue Rose Magic Tower had been destroyed, and there had been many casualties. Still, in the end, we had defeated the crystal golem and saved Vilheim Magic Tower.
But...
The monsters that emerged from the dimensional rift hadn’t been limited to just the crystal golem.
“...What’s happening at the other locations?”
I broke the silence first.
Roimdel spread a map across the table with a grave expression. Red marks dotted many places across the imperial territory.
“I’ve combined the information brought in by messenger birds. The situation is not good.”
Roimdel let out a weary sigh.
“The flying monsters headed toward Crown Magic Tower, and the shadow monsters are moving in the direction of Astral Magic Tower. Solaris and Moonlight are also fighting different monsters of their own.”
“What are the damages?”
Roimdel pointed to the red marks on the map and answered.
“Crown Magic Tower is engaged with three flying monsters. Chief Valter personally went out to face them, but... word is he’s struggling.”
His finger moved to another mark.
“Astral Magic Tower has been surrounded by shadow monsters. Chief Serena is holding them off with spatial magic, but those monsters can absorb spells, so if this turns into a war of attrition, it could get dangerous.”
“And Solaris and Moonlight?”
“Solaris is fighting a lava monster, and Moonlight... we’ve lost contact.”
Roimdel’s expression darkened even further.
“Lost contact?”
I asked, startled.
“Yes. The last messenger bird arrived an hour ago. It said they were engaged with ice monsters, but after that...”
Rosa opened her mouth, her voice trembling.
“They didn’t collapse like Blue Rose, did they?”
“I don’t know.”
Roimdel shook his head.
“We suffered this much damage just holding back the crystal golem. The other towers are likely in the same state, if not worse.”
Looking down at the map, I sank into thought.
The empire is going to be split in half.
I knew that, on hell difficulty, the first dimensional rift would leave the empire half-destroyed.
Then... it was safe to assume Moonlight Magic Tower had already been destroyed.
If I hadn’t been here, Vilheim Magic Tower would have been destroyed too.
That would make two of the Five Great Magic Towers already gone.
It was reasonable to assume that at least one more of the Five Great Magic Towers would fall.
So where would that be?
Solaris, struggling against the lava monster? Astral Magic Tower, fighting the shadow monsters? Crown Magic Tower, holding off the flying monsters?
“What are we supposed to do?”
While I was thinking, Rosa asked.
“Vilheim Magic Tower’s barrier is gone, and there are thirty dead plus so many wounded. In this state, going to support another tower would be...”
“Impossible.”
Roimdel shook his head.
“We need to restore the tower first. Without a barrier, if another monster shows up, we’ll be helpless.”
“Then... the other towers?”
Rosa asked anxiously.
“They’ll have to hold out on their own.”
Roimdel’s voice carried a note of helplessness.
Where was it? Where should we send support?
Roimdel said they’d have to fend for themselves, but I had no intention of doing that.
We had to save at least one more tower.
Then, all at once, a mage rushed into the meeting room.
“Chief Roimdel! An urgent message from Crown Magic Tower!”
“Go on.”
Roimdel shot to his feet.
“Chief Valter of Crown Magic Tower has defeated two of the three flying monsters!”
“What? Is that true?”
Roimdel’s eyes widened.
“Yes! But...”
The mage hesitated.
“But?”
“The last one is the problem. It’s said to be much larger and far stronger than the other two. Chief Valter is currently barely holding onto the monster’s ankle... but if this continues, they say he won’t last much longer.”
“...”
Roimdel’s face hardened.
“Valter can’t hold out? That stubborn bastard?”
Valter was one of the mages most specialized in defense and combat among the Five Great Magic Towers.
If even he couldn’t hold, then that monster had to be as bad as the crystal golem—or worse.
“Did he request support?”
I asked.
“No.”
The mage shook his head.
“Chief Valter did not request support. He merely informed us of the situation.”
“Tsk. That sounds like him. He’s trying to preserve his pride to the end.”
Roimdel clicked his tongue.
“But if we leave it like this...”
Rosa said worriedly, and I thought for a moment.
I don’t know which place will survive... then...
“I’ll go.”
In the end, I judged that reinforcing the most urgent battlefield was the right choice.
The moment I spoke, every eye in the room turned to me.
“You?”
“Yes.”
Roimdel looked at me in surprise.
“But you’ve almost exhausted all your mana. The bleeding from your nose hasn’t even stopped...”
“I’m fine. I should recover some on the way.”
To be honest, I wasn’t fine at all. My condition was at rock bottom, and my mana was nearly gone. But I couldn’t just sit still.
“But—”
“Chief Roimdel.”
I looked him straight in the eye.
“You know as well as I do, don’t you? If Crown Magic Tower falls, the entire northern half of the empire is in danger.”
“...”
Roimdel only looked at me in silence.
“Or do you have some other way to deal with that flying monster?”
“A flying monster, huh...”
I called up my list of fusion spells in my mind.
Checking the Fusion Magic List, I started searching for multiple anti-air fusion spells.