Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Trap Springs
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-Want to know more about my magic? What a cute question.
The mental world was complex magic.
Unlike with Ezekiel, even the Observer's Eye couldn't fully grasp its structure.
So, he asked her directly for help.
-You've studied hard. You're cuter than a kid who just asks for water outright—you're the type who digs for the well.
Ariella was open-minded in this regard.
As the head of the Mage Tower, she had no qualms about sharing knowledge.
But until now, no one besides her teacher and Ezekiel had fully understood the mental world.
'That's what I thought.'
The screen glitched, and the three figures vanished.
As the people in the banquet hall panicked, Ariella wore a faint smile.
Before re-entering the mental world, there was one request: maintain it no matter what happened.
She agreed. It was her duty anyway.
It seemed like they planned to do something in there, but she didn't think it would have a major impact.
But what actually happened far exceeded Ariella's expectations.
'Who does he take after? So ruthless.'
The mental world was sustained by Ariella's mana. She could sense everything that happened inside.
Unlike when the labyrinth was destroyed, he had accessed the fundamental structure and dismantled parts of it.
At Damian's request, Ariella kept repairing the crumbling mental world. Damian continued dismantling.
The mental world's current state was highly unstable. Damian was clearly up to something with this.
'Did he not tell me beforehand because he thought I'd stop him?'
Strictly speaking, she wouldn't have trusted Damian's plan. In that sense, even Ariella fell short.
"Tower Lord. Shouldn't we stop this for now?"
One councilor said, but Ariella shook her head.
"If we force it to end now, it could harm all three of them. I'm repairing it, so just wait."
"A problem in the mental world... It could be external interference. We should investigate the area even now..."
"Talk sense! Isn't it more likely something internal?"
"Internal? That would mean one of those three has impure intentions?"
"Not Councilor Cadrel or Guardian Dennis, so the culprit must be..."
"Don't talk nonsense about Sir Damian, you wench!"
The banquet hall grew rowdy. Ariella closed her eyes amid the chaos and continued channeling her mana.
It was a bit taxing. She'd never experienced an attack like this before.
[Are you okay, Master?]
[I'm fine.]
Sweat beaded on her forehead, but Ariella smiled brightly.
[Make them shut up.]
* * *
The space where the three had separated was bizarrely warped. It was no longer a normal mental world.
"What is this, Sir Damian?"
Cadrel's voice was sharp.
Damian remained on his knees, hand pressed to the ground. His lips trembled. He was struggling to maintain the unstable mental world.
"What else? A trap to expose your misdeeds."
"Misdeeds? Trap? Your speech has gotten awfully curt."
"The chimera incident before. You planned it. Or at least turned a blind eye."
"You seem confused. Lift your hand first."
Cadrel approached Damian, but Dennis blocked his path. Cadrel's face twisted in anger.
"Duke Dennis. Are you unwell too?"
"Councilor Cadrel. There are suspicious rumors about you."
Pah. A scoff escaped Cadrel's lips.
"Oh dear."
Cadrel rubbed his temple and shook his head. He'd pieced it together.
"I should've known something was off when Ezekiel didn't step in... Is this the Tower Lord's will?"
"No. I'm acting solely as Guardian."
There was a chance the plan could fail.
That's why Ariella had to stay uninvolved. Everything was Damian and Dennis's responsibility.
"I know I have a bad temper and people talk behind my back, but do you have proof?"
"That's..."
Dennis turned to look at Damian. He hadn't heard the specifics yet.
[We win the fight.]
[Pardon?]
[I'm twisting the mental world. If we make them lose consciousness here, their memories will spill out. We're cut off from the outside now, but when the time comes, we'll broadcast those memories as images.]
He didn't ask if it was possible.
The mere fact that Damian could affect the mental world was beyond Dennis's understanding.
[Wait. If we lose...]
[I'm not sure what happens to our memories.]
[isn't that a serious issue?]
Even if Damian's memories spilled, nothing about demons or black magic would come out.
He didn't know why, but magic couldn't access black magic-related memories.
Regression stemmed from Ishtar, the Queen of Hell, so it wouldn't be revealed by the mental world's influence.
'No one would believe it anyway.'
But Dennis was different. If his relationship with Ariella came out, things would get complicated in many ways.
He could make excuses. Claim it was an error in the mental space.
But suspicions would arise. He couldn't predict how they'd grow later.
[Why so worried? Just fight hard and give it your all.]
That's why he hadn't shared the details.
With this risk, Ariella might not mind, but Dennis would strongly oppose it.
On the flip side, in this extreme situation, Dennis had no choice but to fight desperately. That's what Damian needed.
[I can't help you. Maintaining the status quo is all I can manage.]
[...You said you have no emotions toward me, right?]
[Of course.]
Damian grinned. Dennis refocused on Cadrel ahead.
"You haven't answered my question. I'll formally protest this. So end this ridiculous farce now."
"That won't be possible, Councilor Cadrel."
"Ha. What a farce in the Mage Tower's long history... Fine."
Cadrel gathered mana. His eyes brimmed with killing intent.
"If you won't listen, I'll crush you by force. You damn mongrels."
Kwarung!! Massive ice walls erupted from the ground, closing in from all sides.
But as Dennis spread his arms, a powerful shockwave exploded, shattering the ice walls into fragments.
'This guy...'
Even a Guardian specialized in anti-mage combat struggled against a councilor.
Moreover, Cadrel specialized in combat magic. He'd created many spells collaborating with the imperial army.
On top of that, Dennis had to watch Damian's safety while facing Cadrel. Damian looked unable to move rashly, though he hadn't said it.
'Change the battlefield first.'
Dennis's eyes glowed blue, and an invisible force pushed Cadrel back.
"Fighting a Guardian—should I consider this an honor?"
Mid-flight, Cadrel clasped his hands, firing a flash between them.
It looked like ordinary mana arrows, but their speed and power were incomparable. And there were countless.
Tududududu!! Dennis dodged what he could and blocked the rest with mana barriers. Simultaneously, he pressed down on Cadrel from above with invisible force.
Kakakak!! Cadrel's mana barrier clashed with the Guardian's power. The moment Dennis thought it broke, a massive fire pillar surged toward him.
Dennis created a vortex spinning opposite the fire pillar's rotation, sweeping away the flames. He flashed blue again, crushing Cadrel with invisible force.
Piiing! But a black dot shot up from the ground. It absorbed even Dennis's power and approached at terrifying speed.
Pukeok! He lacked time for a proper mana barrier. He layered thin ones, but they weren't enough against Cadrel's attack.
The impact sent Dennis crashing down. Now Cadrel floated above. Dozens of mana weapons flew at Dennis.
Kwajijijik!! But the mana weapons crumbled in midair. Cadrel's eyes narrowed. A massive hand shimmering with blue light faintly appeared.
"Finally getting serious?"
Dennis's aura had changed. He'd resolved to risk it all and unleash the Guardian's power to its maximum.
"That's what I've been waiting for."
Cadrel grinned viciously.
"Kuhuk!!"
At the same time, blood gushed from Dennis's mouth.
Something was wrong. The engraving wasn't responding properly. This was impossible.
The Guardian's engraving was part of his body. It was always under perfect control.
'No way...'
He recalled the magic tool embedded in that trio from the Mage Tower.
Thinking back now, it resembled the Guardian's engraving.
Had Cadrel researched it to make his own engraving go berserk?
"When did you pull this trick...!"
"No idea what you're talking about."
"Kuaaaak!"
A mana arrow pierced Dennis's shoulder. Though in the mental world, the pain felt no different from reality.
"You've always been an eyesore."
Cadrel twisted his lips and approached.
"The traitor's spawn—the empire's lowest scum strutting as the Mage Tower's Guardian."
Mana chains constricted Dennis's body.
As he vomited blood and fell, Cadrel stomped on his face.
"We'll talk details outside. I'm curious what face the Tower Lord will make."
Crunch. At Ariella's mention, Dennis's expression twisted.
He had to save his master from fate, yet here he was, trampled by a mere Mage Tower councilor.
Disqualified as both Guardian and disciple.
Wooong. Mana rippled under Cadrel's feet. He aimed to blow off Dennis's head with a close-range mana explosion.
"Good work, Duke Dennis."
But Cadrel had to pull back. Damian had suddenly appeared between them.
"That damn illegitimate bastard... How did you get here?"
By Dennis's arrangement, the battlefield was far from Damian. That meant spatial transfer, but he hadn't sensed it.
"Hearing that in your voice is kinda nostalgic."
"What?"
He spouted nonsense out of nowhere.
It was true Cadrel had thought that inwardly every time he saw Damian, but today was the first time he'd said it aloud.
Yet Damian acted like this conversation was familiar.
"What else?"
Instead of answering, Damian clapped his palm like swatting a fly.
"Your life's ending today. You mad bastard."
Kwajik. Cadrel couldn't respond.
The mental world had twisted him.