Chapter 551 – Retreat (1)
If Qi granted mankind strength to empower their struggle, and Divinity gave mankind faith to grant them hope, then Magic offered mankind progress, bestowing a vision never before seen.
Had magic not existed, trade between the continents, undeniably, would never have been so smoothly accomplished.
They would have been forced to circle around undeveloped lands, consuming astronomical amounts of time, money, and manpower.
Now is the age of magic.
Yet still, the end of magic cannot be seen. Even before the birth of the hierarchical system of magic, magic had always existed.
Thus, Mages never ceased to ponder, agonizing over what the ultimate truth of this mysterious discipline might be.
Here, some might ask, how far is magic permitted to go?
If it is for the sake of magic, must other factors truly not be considered?
Right and wrong differ from person to person.
A representative standard is none other than ethics.
In every physical and mental sense, the human itself is an outstanding specimen for the advancement of human magic.
Coercion, created by Balrog Bessias, which forces the subject's actions and ultimately brainwashes even the mind.
All of these were new magics birthed by sacrificing living humans. Needless to say, their effects are both brutal and tremendous.
'If I had used those magics without hesitation, surely they would have been useful means, but....'
Verden dismissed the temptation without the slightest lingering regret, and set a firm standard.
From the moment he vowed vengeance in the Bohemirn magic tower, he drew the line───'I will not desecrate even the minimum of human dignity with magic.'
Thus, to this day, he has cast Coercion only once.
The target was the Guardian Elf Karans's companion───the spirit now called Blue───who had been abducted to the Kingdom of Estiria by Leonil.
Blue, having tracked Karans's traces all the way to the kingdom, erupted in fury, attacking indiscriminately all nearby humans.
Verden, who was traveling with the adventurer party Manha, was no exception.
Afterward, upon subjugating the spirit and obtaining the spirit stone, Verden attempted to revive Blue by directly imbuing it with magic power, but first he had to decide.
Would he release a spirit filled with intense hostility toward humans, or secure an absolute safeguard and keep it at his side?
Verden chose the latter, and upon reviving Blue, he cast Coercion.
For though aberrant species were not human, if such an intelligent being unleashed malice in the middle of the city, the casualties would not have been in the handfuls.
At the time, Verden had no confidence in persuading an aberrant species devoid of humanity, and even if he succeeded, he had no grounds to offer it trust.
His insight was lacking.
Even so, he refrained from using coercion for anything but commands ensuring the safety of others───merely to preserve the bare minimum of dignity within the realm of intelligent beings, beyond the boundaries of humanity.
'The same holds true now.'
No matter that Hiram was the object of Elder Hiram's long-sought revenge, no matter that he had committed countless human experiments, Verden would not make him a target of
From the start, there was no longer any practical value in considering such.
For Verden's present magical capability was equal to, if not surpassing, those two transcendents.
Unlike them, this original magic of his harmed no dignity. That alone was proof.
Fwooooom.
In his inner sight, certain memories harbored by Hiram approached.
The reinforcement experiment he had just mentioned, the research on thought-bias, the secrets of Bohemirn's magic tower regarding Subjects 70 and 108, all passed by vividly.
And so it was for Hiram as well.
"Ah... ah...!"
The memories Verden chose as the price of magic───the escape from Bohemirn magic tower, and the sights after───flooded like a river into Hiram's mind.
At last, the magic grew unstable.
'That's far enough.'
Verden withdrew his hand along with the magic power.
The labored breath of Elder Hiram echoed again and again. His trembling voice shook violently.
"Ve, Verden, you... you made the tower's power source run rampant...? And that Asher? This, this is absurd...!!"
"I'm glad it left an impression. From becoming Subject 77 of an unofficial experiment, to reaching this point, it took about ten years."
Hiram fell silent.
It felt as though all the blood in his body were draining away. Suddenly, the absence of his freshly annihilated right arm struck with brutal clarity.
Forcing his emotions down, revealing reason, he asked.
"...Why didn't you use such magic right away?"
"There are conditions."
First, it was impossible to arbitrarily select and peer into another's memories.
The memories most freshly recalled by the subject had to be shared sequentially.
Second, the longer it persisted, the more unstable
If the target resisted, instability only accelerated.
"So first, I had to make you recall the relevant memories. Of course, there are simpler methods as well."
"Then why the interrogation."
"Why do you think."
Why indeed had Verden cornered Hiram through such an inefficient interrogation process.
Verden smiled.
"Just to vent."
"What...?"
Hiram wore a blank look.
He was confounded. The reason was so emotional, so wholly unexpected.
Verden bent his elbow.
At the sharp edge of his raised fingers, the flames of Deathflame roared violently.
───Crackle!
The black-burning arm pierced through his chest, and even the wall beyond.
Silence followed.
Hiram slowly lowered his head, staring down at his body. His eyes and mouth tore open wider than ever before.
"Kh... huh..."
"Go ahead and wait. It won't be long before not only the other Elders, but even the tower master joins you."
It was a resolute whisper.
...Thud.
As Verden stepped back, Hiram collapsed lifelessly. His body, with its center gouged out, spilled neither blood nor organs.
Without even a final word, only life itself ended.
***
Elder Hiram was dead.
As soon as Verden's task was done, Alpha crawled out from inside the robe. Its eyes gleamed as it scanned Hiram's corpse.
[No signs of life. Zero chance of survival. Confirmed death. Of Itium's seven Elders, six remain.]
The current state of the Bohemirn magic tower.
'It may be only a step forward, but the balance of power has tilted further.'
Verden, feeling the same liberating sense of achievement as with Rayshen, turned his back. He stopped before Enette, kneeling and bound.
He heightened his sight.
'...Inside, Coercion and an unidentified aura are in conflict.
Within the body, special blood and Coercion collide, opposing one another like oil and water. It is similar to Isabella's case.'
He lowered himself and met her eyes.
Enette, weary, stared back at him. Though her gaze brimmed with hostility... the focus was astray.
'She's not looking at me.'
It was as though only her body was awake while she dreamed. In her eyes flickered a fierce emotion.
Fear.
Not of Verden before her, but of something else.
Strange indeed.
A disciple of a transcendent, in fear?
There was no way to know yet what had driven her into this state. Perhaps it was connected to the reason she had been cast out.
In any case.
'This aura, whatever it is, seems to be a prohibition of the Master. But, it doesn't appear to directly harm Enette herself. Unlike Isabella, there's no need to engrave a Defying the Heavens magic circle.'
After close observation, considering every possibility, he reached a conclusion.
There was no problem in removing the Coercion.
Tap.
Verden moved behind Enette, placing his fingers on the back of her head and her spine.
Magic rippled.
He did not open the destructive Mado as he had with Hiram. No matter how carefully it was done, the moment his hand touched her body, the pain would be extreme.
To minimize variables, the silent unraveling through threads of magic was the right path.
Fwoooosh.
He controlled his magic with full force, manifesting his firm will.
The structure, he knew as if with his eyes closed.
Cleverly, swiftly, he sought out the core of the Coercion, gnawed it away, and severed it completely.
The forced magic circles engraved upon the head and heart vanished simultaneously. Strength drained from Enette's muscles with a sudden slack.
Next, when the magic circle
[No traces of magic circles detected. Internal and external injuries not deep. Breathing somewhat weak but stable. Comprehensive observation indicates no major threat to life. His Majesty Verden has applied an appropriate degree of assault.]
"..."
Well, calling it assault might sound somewhat off, but either way, her safety was secured just as intended.
At that moment, the communication device lit up.
[This is Revana of Unit 2. Forgive the interruption, but the current situation....]
"What is it?"
[Yes. The response of the Western Continent's magic tower alliance is faster than expected, and the supreme elder of the Helion magic tower has appeared. After destroying twelve alliance bases we are retreating, deploying every available means, but their strength is considerable... at this rate, combat seems unavoidable.]
That combat was inevitable meant it would be difficult to escape without killing the alliance's Mages.
'Unit 1 has already retreated from Virente, and I too have obtained sufficient information....'
It was time to end the operation in the Western Continent.
"Lure them as far east as possible. I will head there directly."
[Yes!]
With that, he ended the call with Revana, and connected the communication device to Osgar, the Sage of Power, who was on standby in the rear.
"I have rescued a survivor from the Bohemirn magic tower's unofficial laboratory. Being the disciple of a transcendent, she is an important figure. Send someone to the coordinates I provide and have her taken swiftly."
[The disciple of a transcendent? Whose disciple... no, this is no time for idle explanations. Very well. I will go myself.]
He had arranged someone to take responsibility for Enette's safety.
What remained was only the unofficial laboratory.
Leave it as it was?
Impossible.
There was not the slightest intention of doing so.
Verden pressed his palms together.
From beneath his feet, the darkness of annihilation flared, spreading wide. Naturally, the area where Enette lay was excluded from its range.
'To erase in a single strike a structure of this size, made of material resistant to
Greater destructive power was required.
In the past, Verden would have needed time, but no longer. For he had obtained magic befitting him.
Maintaining his domain, Verden's azure eyes gleamed.
A heavy silence descended. Clutching the robe tight, Alpha watched as the color drained from Verden's body.
Super-tier magic.
A maelstrom of Deathflame surged around Verden.
From the lowest depths of the unofficial laboratory, waves of annihilation erupted upward, engulfing entirely the secret-laden halls of the Bohemirn magic tower.
***
Explosions rang out on all sides, sharp winds ceaselessly stung the skin.
Even while focusing on retreat and checking the Western Continent's alliance forces moment by moment, it was only a matter of time before escape routes were fully cut off.
"Hooh...! To keep your wits before me. As one of Black Hour's upper executives, regardless of age, you are quite remarkable. You have talent...!"
"You, old bastard...!"
At present, Revana faced the supreme elder of the Helion magic tower.
Outwardly, it looked as though they merely glared at one another, yet in the mental plane, imperceptible to ordinary Mages, a war raged.
The mados each had pioneered collided, continuing in fierce battle.
'As expected of a supreme elder...!'
Though she endured somehow, for her abilities, at best, buying time was all she could do.
Still, the alliance Mages were comparatively inferior in level, and with Black Hour's lower executives at the fore of Unit 2 holding well, the overall situation was not too poor.
They need only endure until the transcendent arrived.
She was sure of it, at least until that moment.
Kwararararara!
Suddenly, the sky flashed, and bolts of magic thunder fell.
"Kaagh...!"
One of Black Hour's lower executives failed to evade in time, struck and plummeting. Though not dead, his movements looked labored.
Revana immediately traced the flow of magic power, raising her head. From the thick clouds, the figure of a man slowly emerged.
A booming voice resounded.
"An unanticipated raid by Black Hour. A retaliation, perhaps, for the alliance's assault on Black Hour's bases last time?"
Revana's eyes widened.
'Could it be....'
Angelo.
Supreme elder, or elder, of the Bohemirn magic tower.
One who had reached the pinnacle of magic.
After Balrog Bessias and his successor, the first disciple, the third-ranked figure of Bohemirn tower.
The peak of Itium, whose whereabouts even the Society had failed to clearly trace. Around him, with the storm, remnant lightning crackled and leapt.
Feeling his overwhelming magic power, the Mages faltered, and the battlefield stilled.
"Hm."
Angelo looked down at Unit 2, as though it were nothing. His gaze fixed precisely upon Revana.
"Revana of Control. Truly, your infamy is deserved. To hold even the supreme elder of Helion tower at bay, however clumsily. But whether you can block even this, I wonder."
The clouds flashed.
The sound of thunder split the air. The atmosphere began to quiver violently.
Revana bit her lip.
'How do you block lightning in the mental plane.'
Not only was the attribute utterly disadvantageous, but there were two supreme elders. One of them a monster who had reached the limits of humanity.
A head-on clash was impossible.
Worse, a lower executive was already heavily wounded... she racked her brain for a plan, but time was not granted.
Without pause, a harsh roar burst, light converging.
───!
Four bolts of lightning fell in unison upon a concentrated range. Revana's face was bathed in blue light.
From the side, a wave of annihilation surged, intercepting and erasing all lightning.
As if sucked away, the light vanished from the battlefield, replaced by an immense presence.
At some point, a gray-haired old man stood in the center of the battlefield.
Angelo's eyes flew wide.
"Amwol?"
Dahit Wethroel───Verden disguised by [Ainber]'s
'Angelo. I had thought you hidden high within the Bohemirn tower, but here you are at the front.'
That even other towers' supreme elders had appeared suggested Balrog had stationed them for contingencies.
Well, no matter.
'Though neither plan nor circumstance demand I dispose of him right now....'
There was no problem in giving him a proper beating.
With his black-gloved hand twitching lightly, Verden spoke in a low tone, as Dahit Wethroel would.
"To dare raise your head before me. A mere lackey of a half-wit."
"You...."
Transcendent, and among humans, one of the strongest Magi.
Annihilation and lightning clashed.