The Severance
“Ugh…”
Lee Dam opened her eyes to a hospital room.
A cozy, plush bed.
“Ah, damn….”
Every aching muscle from the poison-heavy alcohol she’d downed the night before pressed down on her like a hammer.
The bandage wrapped around her head felt tight. She tried to loosen it, but a cold, heavy sensation on her wrists stopped her.
“What the hell is this?”
Handcuffs.
Heavy iron cuffs shaped like a square frame, locking her mana tight.
She couldn’t muster any strength anyway, and now these chunky steel cuffs were dragging her down even more.
“……Huh?”
Just like always.
She tried to summon her mana, but the air around her stayed completely blank—no response at all.
It felt exactly like the days before magic existed in this world.
Lee Dam tilted her head, confused.
“What the heck is this?”
The only thing different about her body was the heavy cuffs resting on her belly.
And the moment she tried to use mana, those cuffs yanked control away from her like they owned the place.
“Interesting little invention, isn’t it?”
She pushed herself up from the bed, still marveling at the cuffs.
Where the hell had they even come from?
The door opened just then, and Beldora Millennium, the Tower Master, walked in.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Even saying she was awake, her face looked grim. No, worse—she’d been holding back bad news since the moment she entered.
“Lee Dam, how are you feeling—?”
“What’s this? Mana’s sealed? That’s insane!”
“……Didn’t you get a month’s training from Theodore? That’s one of our highest achievements—the Mana Sealing Handcuffs.”
“So they made it out of iron, huh.”
“Yes, the item was created by the previous Tower Master. It’s perfect for taming mages who go out of control or Seong-un operatives.”
Seong-un operatives.
Surprisingly, the cuffs were actually working.
“But why the hell did they cuff me?”
“……I literally just explained it.”
“So you think I’m Seong-un?”
“No, a runaway mage.”
“Ah.”
Lee Dam nodded and quietly started to sit up.
“Take these off. I won’t do anything stupid.”
“……I told you the situation had gotten complicated.”
Beldora sighed, rubbing her temples like a migraine was coming on.
She wasn’t joking anymore, and the expression on her face made it clear it was serious business.
“Do you even know how big a wave this incident caused? The Archmage was furious.”
“So the old hag got slapped with the facts, huh? But I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?”
“That’s exactly the problem… That’s exactly the problem. Even though she never said it out loud, quite a few mages secretly agreed with your opinion.”
Beldora kept hammering the point home.
“Let me put it simply. You seem pretty uncomfortable living at the tower, so… hrm, you’re being transferred.”
“……”
Lee Dam listened in silence.
Beldora paused, probably assuming she’d been shocked, then continued.
“Remember the Exchange Day last time? You straight-up humiliated the Fontaine delegate in front of everyone. The Boulian Republic got extremely persistent about it after that.”
“……”
“They’ve been demanding your return ever since. Well… as compensation for the insulting words. I suppose they want you tried or something.”
“Tried on what charges? I’m not even from the Republic to begin with—why the hell would I have to face their courts?”
Lee Dam puffed out her chest, but Beldora only sighed.
“You’re from the Republic now.”
“Eh…?”
“The tower is your affiliation, not your nationality. You already know that, right? So… people often wash their citizenship that way. Usually it’s to protect mages under the tower’s banner, but—.”
“So they wanted to chew me out, huh?”
“……Correct. You’re going to stand trial in the Republic. The charges will be decided by them.”
“Hah, damn. What a crazy fantasy world.”
Mad bastards.
In the countryside they’d wanted to kill me for being a witch, now they’re rearranging my nationality and demanding I get tried like it’s nothing.
“Those cuffs mean exactly that. Once a mage leaks out, the moment you leave the tower you can never take them off.”
“Nothing’s absolute.”
“It is. It really is. You have no idea how sturdy I made them.”
“……”
“Plus they’re made of the high-grade steel you created—lighter than before while actually tougher.”
Beldora, who was secretly proud of her invention, suddenly looked irritated.
“You’re giving me a masterclass in good stuff, huh.”
“Hrm, anyway.”
Beldora sighed again, looking at Lee Dam with genuine worry.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
“……”
“I tried everything to keep you from leaving the tower, but the other Tower Masters agreed with the Archmage.”
“Heh, shit. Looks like I’m getting to see the outside world after all.”
Lee Dam let out a short laugh and nodded.
It didn’t feel bad. If anything, it felt like she was about to go on a long walk outside.
Seeing how easily Lee Dam was taking it, Beldora continued slowly.
“……But Lee Dam, there’s something you left me.”
“The research notes? Keep them safe until I come back.”
“Come back—.”
Could she really come back?
Beldora had thought this was the end of it, but Lee Dam’s words made her feel strangely hopeful they’d meet again later.
“Whatever. I’ll keep them safe until the next time we meet.”
* * *
“The old man grew horns.”
The next day, the second she woke up, time to leave was already here.
Lee Dam couldn’t believe it. A carriage had been sent from the Boulian Republic the moment the cuffs were put on her.
The Boulian carriage had no horses.
Why call it a carriage when cars existed? She wondered if that was the reason.
A carriage that ran without horses.
Boulian Republic had developed it with steam engines.
From Lee Dam’s perspective, coming from a world of advanced technology, the Republic had clearly been taking the best tech route.
“Well, there’s magic here, so maybe it’s different.”
In her previous life there was no supernatural power called magic, but now that it existed, everything could change.
“Mage-nim!”
Her departure was no secret, but it was sudden and hidden.
Still, a few mages from the Iron Magic Tower and the Sealix Knight Squad came running the moment they heard.
“How could you leave like this?!”
“Mage-nim, you were right! You were never wrong!”
“We misunderstood you all this time! We thought you were just a lustful man chasing women, but we’ve finally realized you’re not!”
“……?”
Lee Dam only gave a half-hearted nod, ready to leave.
The last line made her wonder what they were talking about, but there was no time to argue.
She didn’t even want to stand around.
The cuffs on her wrists felt ridiculously heavy.
“Hey, the Knight Armor is now under my control. Listen well and obey. Got it?”
At those words, Winston, commander of the Sealix Knight Squad, stepped forward and nodded.
“We will definitely complete the Knight Armor exactly as you wish, Mage-nim!”
Like he even knew what he was doing.
Lee Dam wanted to say that, but seeing Winston on the verge of tears made her hesitate to hurt his feelings.
“You don’t know what you’re capable of.”
“……”
Her tongue was still free to run wild, so the words slipped out by accident.
What did it matter? She hadn’t even said anything wrong.
“Lee Dam mage.”
A young apprentice mage, Noman, slipped past the knights and leaned in close to whisper in her ear.
“Don’t worry. Our comrades in the Republic have already prepared a plan to help Saintess escape.”
“……”
“Bishop Camael is already there, so you’ll be out in no time.”
Hmm.
Surprisingly useful.
Lee Dam nodded, thinking the same thing.
Time to leave.
Tower Master Beldora and Tower Guardian Theodore didn’t bother with any farewell.
They had actually prepared one, but Lee Dam just turned away without listening.
“I’ll be back soon.”
She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Everyone watching her go felt that she really would return.
* * *
“Haaam.”
The ride was boring as hell.
To be honest, the carriage without horses only felt interesting at first.
After that it was pure disappointment.
“Speed is slower than a normal carriage, it’s noisy as hell, and it shakes like crazy.”
The constant rattling made her breasts bounce around—the most annoying thing ever.
On top of that, the cuffs on her wrists made everything twice as hard.
She was just thinking how useless her body was when the carriage suddenly stopped.
She figured they were sleeping, but the atmosphere felt weird.
The soldiers who came to pick her up wore what could almost be called modern officer uniforms.
Their revolvers at their waists were the mark of pride.
“Hey, why not just let her go?”
“She’s already a criminal heading to trial, anyway.”
“Besides, how much are we supposed to listen to that woman?”
Their muttering from outside the carriage was soft but urgent.
Glances through the windows showed clear lust in their eyes.
“We still have a week to go. Can’t we have some fun?”
“She can’t even use magic. Perfect opportunity, right?”
They kept appealing to the officer in charge, who himself swallowed hard after catching a glimpse of Lee Dam through the window.
“If she’s going to be punished anyway… we might as well enjoy her first.”
The decision was clear.
The other soldiers nodded, their eyes turning downright wicked as they stared at Lee Dam.
“Do you want one person at a time?”
“Go ahead, Captain.”
“That’s right. We’ll be grateful if you stay clean.”
The soldiers laughed lecherously.
The captain feigned reluctance as he climbed into the carriage.
“What are you staring at, you bastards?!”
His entrance was met with a fierce welcome.
If anything, that angry reaction only made the captain even more excited.
“Hah, this trip is gonna be fun.”
He grabbed her neck and pulled her close, breathing hotly against her skin. The pheromones a woman gave off were truly sweet.
“Ah, this is it.”
On the other hand, Lee Dam calmly assessed the situation.
“Crazy bastards. If I can’t beat them, I’ll just fuck them up anyway.”
“……”
“Sorry, but I have no plans to fuck any of you.”
“Hah, that’s not your choice, bitch.”
A woman who couldn’t even use mana dared to talk back?
Confident, Lee Dam watched as the man reached out to her.
“……?!”
A black tattoo appeared on the left side of her cheek.
To confirm the cuffs were actually working, she lowered her head and saw that the tattoo stretched from her left arm.
“C, cu—?!”
The heat filling the carriage had nothing to do with a woman’s pheromones.
“H, hot—!”
The air was scorching.
Even screaming as her lungs burned felt painful.
“How—?! I can’t use magic—?!”
Lee Dam calmly crossed her legs and let out a yawn.
“Haaaaam!”
Black flames erupted and swallowed the entire carriage in an instant.