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Woosh!
Fire rose up with a flick of a finger.
Crackle!
With another flick, undulating waves of electrical currents rippled outwards.
The far northern reach of the Great Plain of Aiyash, where the old Magic Tower—now called the Tower of Trials—was located, had become hell on earth.
“AHHH!”
People were desperately screaming with no intention of stopping. All of them had something in common: on the breast of their robes were embroidered the symbol for “truth.” It marked them as magicians of the Magic Tower.
“Th-There should be a magic barrier, so how
?” Donald, a magician from the 3rd Magic Tower, muttered as if he were in a trance.
The barrier was a masterpiece of the Magic Tower that was created after decades of research that had begun the last generation. Crystal balls and any magic below Class 6 were completely useless inside the barrier
 at least, they should be. At this moment, the magic barrier was completely useless.
“Who is that guy? How can he use magic so freely here?”
“MOVE!” At that moment, one of the mages shouted at him.
Donald hurriedly threw himself to the side, and a stream of red fire, darker than crimson, passed through the place where he had been standing. If he’d been even a moment slower

Donald’s hands became slick with sweat. All the mages around him had the same reaction.
As many as a thousand mages were feeling pressure from just one man.
“A dragon
?” someone mumbled.
A suffocating silence instantly descended on them.
Dragons — the most powerful creatures in existence. The sole and only experts of Class 9 magic, as well as the guardians of middle earth.
It was actually a fairly plausible scenario when Donald thought about it. No human being had had access to that kind of ancient magic for ages. If someone did have talent like that, rumors would have spread all over the continent by now.
‘No way, is he really—?’
Donald shook off the thought and swallowed hard.
A man with deep, oceanic blue hair strode through the stillness. The mages couldn’t even resist him; they could only helplessly retreat across the utterly, indisputably barren ground of the northern Great Plain with each step he took.
‘Even if it’s a dragon, we can’t let him through! The advanced team is already inside the Tower with two of the Seven Magicians. If he’s allowed through like this
.’
Donald shook his head; he didn't even want to imagine what would happen.
Then Joshua opened his mouth.
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“In the past, the present, and the future, mages are always the same.”
“...!”
“Even when you see it with your own eyes, you never want to believe anything that goes against your experience or knowledge. You always think with your head, putting aside your heart.”
“...”
“You do that even in situations where you should act as your heart tells you to—like now.”
“What are you saying
?” Donald blankly muttered.
“I’m saying that I’m still willing to let you flee.”
“...!” The mages of the Magic Tower boggled at him.
“Face reality. Break out of that small world that your preconceptions and your stereotypes have fenced you into.”
“...”
“If you can’t change your perception, then you can’t get what you desire.”
There was no one on the entire continent who could say that unless they knew the future. Joshua knew that Evergrant would have taken over the Magic Tower, and Joshua had accurately guessed what the new Tower Master would have said to entice the other mages: a land created by mages, for mages, and only for mages.
A Magic Empire.
This problem is why the mages’ aspiration had been delayed for years. Even Terra, while reasonably open, was headed for destruction.
After all, Evergrant had no interest in such a thing in the first place.
But were a few words enough to change the future?
Joshua tensed his muscles imperceptibly.
“I will help you get just a little closer to breaking free of that fence.”
He quietly stretched out his arms.
“A knight can ‘never’ use magic; in a one-on-one fight, a mage is superior to a knight. Who the hell decided that?” he quietly muttered.
A new transformation began. Raging flames erupted from his left hand. The thunder and lightning capable of destroying an entire civilization burst from his right hand.
Joshua took the two powers that did not seem like they would mix and slowly edged them closer to each other.
“Magmaron
”[1] he whispered as the two energies merged into one.
Flash!
The barren plain was enveloped by a bright white light.
“...!”
BOOM!
There was a loud explosion, seemingly splitting the world in two.
***
In the center of Arcadia was the mansion of Duke Agnus. A member of the family came to visit for the first time in a long while; plus, he was the sole heir to the vast wealth of the Agnus family.
A knock was heard on the door of Duke Agnus’s private office.
“Sir, it’s Babel.”
The voice from outside brought Duke Agnus back to reality.
“Enter.”
When Duke Agnus gave permission, the antique door silently swung open and a man in his twenties with dark blond hair entered the room.
“I greet the head of the household.”
The man bowed towards Duke Agnus.
Babel von Agnus, the son of Vanessa and Duke Agnus.
No, to be more precise, Babel wasn’t the son of Duke Agnus; he was Emperor Marcus’s son.
“...” Duke Agnus regarded Babel with grave eyes.
“What happened so urgently that you came without sending me a message?”
“It was rude of me, but I had something I wished to ask you.”
“You could have used a crystal ball
”
The cold response made Babel clench his fist. Would he be treated like this if he were Joshua?
But Babel couldn’t care less. Joshua’s fate had already been decided. He was a traitor in the eyes of the Empire, and that was all there was to it.
All that was left for Babel was to fulfill the mission he came here for and nothing more.
“It is a very sensitive issue,” Babel continued with a gleam in his eyes. “I came here because I was worried that someone might eavesdrop.”
“Tell me,” Duke Agnus prompted.
Babel paused for a moment before pressing on intently.
“Some strange rumors are circulating the capital as of late. They say that inside the Agnus Duchy, there is a royal Princess other than my mother, Vanessa ben Britten.”
Duke Agnus’ gaze became serious as he listened to Babel.
“It isn’t particularly credible, but as the only heir to the Agnus family, it wasn't something I could easily ignore.”
Babel emphasized the word ‘only’ as he continued to speak.
“I know it was a long time ago, but you must have heard it at least once, Sir. The younger sister of the reigning Emperor, Asiru ben Britten, disappeared twenty years ago.”
“...”
“She was ten years old when she disappeared, so she should be around thirty now...”
Babel's expression hardened as he trailed off.
“The nobles who live closer to the capital, including the two princes, are reacting sensitively to rumors.”
“What are you trying to say?” Duke Agnus asked.
“They are worried that the Princess is still alive and might’ve given birth to a child,” Babel answered without hesitation. “It would mean new competition for them.”
Babel paused to peek at Duke Agnus’s expression before resuming.
“The Imperial family has already been affected because of Joshua Sanders. So it’s obvious that people are particularly sensitive about rumors like this spreading.”
“...”
“And as long as the rumors are related to the Agnus family, I have no choice but to take it seriously. So as the heir to the family, I have taken some measures against it.”
Duke Agnus examined Babel, whose eyes were sparkling.
“So, what action did you take?”
“First of all, as soon as I heard the rumors, I searched through the households of our vassals, including the families themselves, for women in their thirties and older and investigated their backgrounds. As for the result, I didn’t find anything noteworthy. There is no way that the vassals, not the mention the Agnus Duchy who takes security seriously, would bring a woman of uncertain background into their family.”
It seemed like there was a hint of regret in Babel’s voice, so Duke Agnus thought the report was coming to an end.
“But then, I came across a rather surprising bit of information.”
“Surprising bit of information
?”
“It’s something reliable since this information came from the Imperial family, so you shouldn’t dismiss it.”
Babel looked Duke Agnus straight in the eyes.
“I wasn’t born at the time, so I didn’t know, but
”
“...”
“It’s said that Princess Asiru ben Britten has none of the characteristics of the Britten family. No golden hair, no golden eyes.”
“...”
“Instead, it seems like she had hair as blue as the depths of the sea and green eyes like emerald plucked straight out of the mine.”
Doubt began to show on Babel’s face.
“So why was it that after I heard that description, one woman came to mind? That’s why I came here today to ask the head of the family a question.” Babel’s golden eyes flashed. “About the woman who was once the Duke’s maid, who now, both in name and practice, is the second mistress of the Duchy.”
Babel's voice was the only noise heard inside the room.
“Where is Lady Lucia now?”
There was a slight noise. It seemed Duke Agnus was finally responding.
1. Magma x Bronto ☜