IWRYWYM Ch. 116 â The Fall of the West
When the atmosphere in the West became unusual, it was natural that the Western Tower, closely related to the Western nobles, was considered a caution target.
However, the Western Tower was a group with a fanatical obsession with exploring the truth of mana.
It was linked to the outside world for practical reasons, but in most cases, the members had not forgotten their duty.
Would such a group jump into a rebellion that might shake their foundation? Unlike the Western nobles who were not in a situation to escape, the Western Tower could escape the flames if they remained silent.
Barossa had asked for proper confirmation, but the Western Tower couldnât provide any answer.
If it had been done on purpose, the emperor would have pushed a wedge with the turbulent movement and considered them to be in cahoots with the Western nobility⊠but they had a justification, saying that they couldnât make any decisions because the leader of the Western Tower was absent.
This was because William, who was angry, really disappeared at some point when Rohan blocked his repeated attempts to take control of the 2nd Consortâs Palace under the pretext of being the guardian of the 3rd Prince while the 2nd Consort was away.
Although the members of the Tower refused the placement of the mages from the Imperial Tower because they didnât want to give them a chance to get a glimpse of their secrets as their field was the same, they hadnât refused when the emperor, who couldnât let things slide, said he would place a certain number of imperial knights in the Western Tower.
The power that left Barossa to the Western Tower was one of the many reasons why Elisha had to move excessively, and the Tower Master was the biggest reason why Rohan couldnât leave Barossa.
Those were just facts. Nobody had thought they would raise any problem.
Whether William was buried in a quiet place to discover and preoccupy with the new magic theory, as expected by the Western Towerâs mages, or he was hiding to be used as a secret weapon for the Western nobility, nobody had given a thought.
Rohan, who was left in Barossa, couldâve dealt with a 7th-circle mage alone. Even if the subjugation party encountered him during the subjugation of other rebels, the party would not collapse while Elisha confronted him.
The 7th-circle mage was compared to the swordmaster in the first place because of their destructive power, but it did not mean that the fight between the two would produce equal results. A mageâs strength differed from the intuitive power of a swordmaster, and in one-on-one battles, it was safe to say that the former was the ultimate loser.
But it was a different story with an 8th-circle mage.
The sky and earth could be reversed. An 8th-circle mage could defeat the swordmaster not only in terms of the usability of creating and using magic formulas that would benefit the world but also using the power they wield themselves.
Among the swordmasters, only those who have come one step closer to the ultimate would be able to deal with him. For example, Marquis Blemir.
Elisha had also used the power of the Spirit King Ignis in the past but had been seriously wounded while fighting Tower Master William. If Tower Master William were a mature 8th-circle now, she wasnât sure what the outcome would have been.
A huge fireball pushed the floor and approached Elisha. The broken pieces jumped up and swept together as if eaten by a tidal wave.
Elisha accelerated further to move away from the crumbling floor. She clenched her fists tightly. Although the dukeâs death was important to her, there was a problem that must be solved first.
âI have to kill him now. Thereâs no later if heâs reached the 8th-circle.â
âSomehow. As always,â Elisha muttered, answering her own question. Somehow. She would do anything she could, because failure was the end of all her precious things.
Childrenâs laughter and happiness, sweet treats held in small hands, and well-fitting clothes made of soft fabrics. Even the splendid emperorâs crown, which he would wear on his head in the future, would be taken away.
When Elisha reached the front of the central staircase, she stopped running and flipped her body.
A ball of fire passed through where Elishaâs had been and continued on, breaking everything.
The top floor where the duke family stayed was devastated. Elisha moved quickly without looking back. But she wasnât running away.
Elisha glided down the stairs and went down to the main hall on the bottom floor. She stood in the middle of the central hall, staring straight ahead, with the aura of water wrapped around her body.
At the same time, Bang!!
The front door burst open, and a man appeared.
âYouâre still cocky. You didnât even say hello to your master.â
âThatâs something thatâs exchanged between master and disciple that truly shares affections.â
Williamâs eyes shook as if the answer that had been uttered so calmly had hit the spot.
He recalled the girl who had been skinny and small enough not to reach his thighs. She had been good at everything she had been told to do since she was young and performed better than heâd expected. Nevertheless, there was never any kind of master-disciple affection between them.
Sheâd never thought much of him, who was the Tower Master and an archmage. As if he was insignificant.
William was the desperate one, but he raised his temper, acting as if Elisha was the one whoâd chosen him because she needed him.
If he werenât a great mage who was very rational, he wouldnât have known that the girlâs height had grown until it was over his shoulder.
Well, what about now? William had reached the 8th-circle. Heâd risen to the ranks of the strong who would make a mark in the continentâs history.
Several streams of water were thrown at William like spears. As she had also been a mage, Elisha attacked straight away, knowing how dangerous it was to give William time to use magic formulas.
William bounced them off with the shield he had prepared in advance without difficulty. In the past, it was a magic that was impossible to use until it was activated, but not now.
Eight rings of mana in his heart rattled, showing off their presence.
To complete this, he continued his training while refusing the call of Duke Verdin, who was constantly looking for him because the West was unstable.
âHeaven helps me,â William said, stretching his arms from side to side. He didnât say that because heâd arrived just in time before the Verdin Duchy collapsed as the last hope of the Western nobility.
He said that because he could pass on the guilt of the death of the 2nd Consort to Duke Verdin, who still had a line left.
âWhen they all disappear, a new person will appear and take power. It will be perfect if that new person is an 8th-circle mage that would make the continent resound.â
Duke William! What a cool name!
Clearly, the Eastern and crown princeâs aristocratic factions would support him rather than let the emperor occupy this place alone.
âNow itâs time for the mages to make their voices heard. Not just a tower attached to any noble faction, but proudly. Because an 8th-circle represents all mages and have a duty to open a new world for them.â
So they didnât have to worry about losing their training time as a mage after becoming an aristocrat. Williamâs principle was to find the good things and leave the bad things, and so far, there had been no failure as he had only picked up useful things.
William recited the magic formula with an exalted expression on his face. Mana rings resonated. Mana arranged according to the ritual took shape and manifested its power in the world.
Williamâs eyes widened as he shuddered at the power emanating from his body, pulling out lightning bolts from his hands. Elisha, standing on the other side, started running toward him quickly!
This was the second thing to keep in mind when fighting mages. Mages were weak in close combat and usually used ranged attacks. Elisha was now implementing all the facts she should not forget while competing with the mage.
The stream of water wrapped around the blade of the sword she held up surged upwards. The sword shone transparently as if it had been extended by 2 meters.
âThatâs pretty good!â
William, who had only heard of Elishaâs skills, shouted with surprise. But he didnât seem to think heâd lose.
He threw the lightning he had created towards Elisha. Elishaâs sword fell diagonally and collided with the lightning.
Water and lightning collide and explode. The central hall shook with a roar.
The Eastern knight, who appeared out of nowhere, smiled as the man begged while lying at an angle on the bed.
âWho told you to rebel?â
At the same time, the pointed sword pierced through the chest of the man lying down and down to the bottom of the bed.
As the man with trembling limbs drooped, the knight withdrew his sword. He wiped the blood from the sword on the white bed sheet and turned his body.
He opened the door he had closed upon entering the room, and suddenly, the whole castle shook loudly with a loud noise that deafened the ears.
As the Eastern knight hurried out, the dukeâs knights he had killed were trampled under his feet. As he pushed them away and stepped on them, colleagues belonging to the same Imperial Knights appeared one by one.
Not long after they moved along with the signal from the 2nd Consort from the upper floor and started to kill the major nobility in the West, the sound of something breaking was heard repeatedly.
They couldnât guarantee to win against a swordmaster, but it was a tacit agreement between them that the 2nd Consort could prevent an enemy of such level. But was there anyone in the dukeâs castle who could fight with her with such a noise?
âItâs William, the master of the Western Tower.â
At that time, a voice rang, and the knights stretched their swords toward the sound.
The other party showed his face.
Count Dyke supported Prince Raymond in his left arm and held a sword in his right hand. It seemed that something must have happened in the middle, considering that Prince Raymond, who had stood on his own two feet before, became like that.
âDid something happen to the portal?â asked the Eastern knight. Count Dyke and Prince Raymond were supposed to be in charge of the portal.
âThe Tower Master used and destroyed it so no one else could use it after him.â
âIsnât it customary not to touch the portal itself, lest one gets banned from using it forever?â
âUntil now, no infighting has intensified this much, and no one has the guts and financial resources to do so.â
As William was from the Western Tower directly related to the portal, he would also have the ability to build what is broken.
âItâs a shame. If we had arrived a little earlier and had our hands on the duchyâs mages, we would have been able to prevent the Western Tower Master from coming over.â
Count Dykeâs eyebrows twitched at the words out of regret or sarcasm.
Count Dyke hadnât been able to side with the prince, who had delayed the time, insisting he should take charge. As if that wasnât enough, the prince blasted the portal and swung his sword when they ran into the tower master who was coming out of the portal.
He still had to thank the Tower Master because after recognizing Raymondâs face, perhaps thinking he was still useful, the Tower Master had only knocked Raymond out with a light gesture.
When County Dyke looked through the crowd, there were about eight people.
âOnce the mission is completed, as weâve decided-â
Again the castle shook. The ceiling above their heads cracked, and crumbled dust fell. At this rate, it wouldnât be strange if the dukeâs castle collapsed.
Count Dyke opened the door to any room and looked down at the castle through the outer window. The knights and soldiers of the dukeâs castle were in a hurry, but rather than entering the front door on the first floor, they were busy retreating.
As soon as Count Dyke finished speaking, one axis of the dukeâs castle collapsed.