/
At the top of the Magic Tower, Evergrant, the new Tower Master, regarded the black-robed figure in front of him.
“How do you feel?” “...” The figure clenched his fists experimentally.
“I feel
fine.”
“I was very surprised.”
“...”
“Even though it wasn’t the main body, I can’t believe someone cracked the Life Vessel of my senior
”
“...”
“Can I ask what happened?”
“...”
Jerath dek Orbis—or Berber, as he was now known—didn’t respond to Evergrant’s question for a long moment.
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“I saw a demonic artifact.”
“What?” Evergrant’s jaw dropped. “A-A demonic artifact—”
“Yes, literally the weapon of a demon.”
“My word
”
In the past hundreds of years, there had never been anyone stronger than Asmodeus and his contractor, even though Asmodeus was only ranked 32nd in the demon realm. Considering the sheer number of heavyweights in the demon realm, the rankings were not to be taken lightly.
If they were talking about the Demon God, however, the story would be startlingly different.
The Demon God, the master of the demon realm itself, stood alone above the eight demon kings.
“How
”
“Don’t worry, because right now, it’s only a demonic artifact in name.”
“What do you mean
?”
“It looks like a demonic artifact on the outside, but the inside is completely different.”
“...”
“But we cannot forget the fact it could give us a bigger headache than the Demon God.” As if speaking to himself, Berber muttered those words. Then, he turned to look at Evergrant. “ I will take care of that myself, but more importantly
”
“...”
“Is Elenburs still close by?”
Evergrant flinched but nodded obediently.
“Yes, I think they saw something.”
“How bothersome,” Berber sighed. “An elf
”
His brow furrowed for a moment.
“How about the Storm Wind?”
“Its location has already been discovered.”
“We have to find it.”
“I understand.”
Berber nodded and changed the topic.
“Too many problems are arising now that the army has almost finished gathering. That’s not usually a good sign.”
"The troops appear to be fully assembled."
“If the army was a body, then the ‘head’ who will lead the troops is still missing.”
“...”
“The Death Knights are just the torso, they are not the head. So
”
Berber trailed off, eyes gleaming.
“We need a new head—a Lich to command the troops.”
“...”
“Since we have the resources ready, we can make one Arch Lich and two Lichess. So the rest will be dealt with time
” Berber glanced at Evergrant. “We will start working on the third day after the full moon. Would that be possible?”
“I will do my best.”
“Good.” Berber spun on his heel.
“I have one more thing to tell you.”
Berber paused when Evergrant spoke up.
“As long as Prince Kasselon’s secret is revealed, It’s only a matter of time before Asiru Ben Britten is revealed to the world.”
“...I see. It makes sense since Emperor Marcus would have gotten some information.”
“Should we make some kind of prep
”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“...!”
“Hadn’t Heimdall already expected this?” Berber chuckled. Soon, the silence was interrupted by Berber’s rather shocking words. “I can’t wait to see the Emperor’s expression when his ‘sister,’ the one he believed to be dead, returns from the dead.”
***
Drip, drip.
Water continuously trailed down stalactites and dripped onto the floor of a cave. Soon, it dropped onto a woman’s cheek. She was lay so still that it was questionable whether she was alive or dead.
“Mmm
”
As the cold water ran down her cheeks, the woman, Iceline, let out a small moan. She slowly opened her eyes—her eyes were as clear as a lake.
“This
 where—”
Iceline mumbled to herself as her smooth forehead wrinkled. She was thirsty beyond belief. Not only that, but she also felt that the mana inside her was totally depleted.
‘Before I lost consciousness, I’m sure
’
Her expression hardened as she grasped for the memory. It wasn’t that hard to recall: the Magic Tower had been pursuing them relentlessly. They were chased for more than fifteen days—and if that wasn’t bad enough, she had to carry an almost dead man on her back the whole time.
Despite that, they escaped their pursuers. They finally reached the northern part of the Great Plain of Aiyash and worked their way deep into the mountains.
The people waiting for them were far different from those Iceline had dealt with so far. They were two of the strongest mages on the continent.
But when Iceline was deep in despair, what saved her was none other than Theta, who couldn't even control his own body. Amid the swirling barrage of magic, he forced his abused body to unroll the teleport scroll.
Iceline's eyes slowly widened as she fully regained her consciousness.
“Theta!”
At that moment, her gaze landed on the one-eyed mage. His clothes were stained so red that it was impossible to tell what their original color was.
Iceline quickly approached him as he quietly meditated.
“T-The wound!”
“Don’t be too noisy.”
“...!”
Almost impossibly, Theta was able to speak.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course, I’m not alright.”
“...” Iceline felt like an idiot.
“Wh-Where are we?”
“It’s the 17th floor of the Tower of Trials.”
“Tower of Trials
?”
Iceline’s eyes widened at Theta’s answer.
The Tower of Trials, as she remembered, was very famous. A hundred years ago, it was known as the home of mages, just like the Magic Tower was now. Currently, it was left abandoned on the northernmost part of the Great Plain of Aiyash and was only used to train mages, but what it signified was acknowledged throughout the continent.
“Why did you set the coordinates to a place like this?”
“Because I handle this place.”
“Huh?”
“But none of that matters right now.”
Iceline had no choice but to shut her mouth. Theta looked at her and took something out of his robe as he stood up.
“Both the teleportation and the crystal ball for communication are dead. Perhaps they spread the magic block over the entire area.”
“That means—”
“Escape is impossible. In other words, we’re in a battle of endurance.”
Iceline’s hopes fell.
Endurance? Two wounded mages against hundreds?
“There's nothing to worry about. It won't break easily."
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know why this place is called the Tower of Trials?”
“You mean
”
“You must have heard of it.” Theta grinned. “While the Tower is active, various trials await its visitors on each floor. There’s a reason it’s used to train mages.”
“...”
“It’s built on an ancient magic circle the likes of which hasn’t been seen in centuries; the higher you go, the harder trials await you.”
“But isn’t that just an illusion?”
“Nope, not an illusion.” Theta shook his head. “I made it personally, so I know that it is far from fake.”
“HUHHH?” Iceline was startled. “You mean you worked with ancient magic yourself?”
“Right. Even if Zephyros and Scorpino—those bastards—come here, it won’t be easy.”
“The Seven Magicians,” Icelene muttered.
Theta’s eye gleamed.
“The Void is more annoying than the Red Flame, but—” Theta clenched his fists. “I think we still have a chance.”
He glanced at Iceline.
“The backup you were talking about; are they still gonna come?”
Iceline took a moment to realize what he meant.
“Ah
” She gently bit her lip.
In truth, she was just hoping. She had no idea if Joshua would come or not.
“Is it a whole legion from the Empire? If you want to deal with the Magic Tower, that’s the bare minimum you’d need.”
“Um
 it’s just one person.”
“What?” Theta couldn’t believe his ears. “Hey
 what did you just say?”
Theta was about to interrogate Iceline more when they heard a bang run through the entire Tower, making both of them flinch.
“Has it begun?”
His eyes sank. He believed that since it had been a full day since they’d been in there, the opponent had made their move.
But Iceline’s eyes were suddenly full of hope.
“He always seems to appear at the most convenient moment,” Iceline muttered, staring at where she assumed the entrance was.
Why? Why was she so certain he would be there? There was no concrete reason; perhaps it was just her trust and expectations.
Iceline’s voice whispered through her slightly parted teeth:
“Joshua
”