The magicians stared at the charred head like they were caught in a nightmare. It didn’t feel real. Herman may have lost a Circle when he was crippled, but he was still a magician who could hold his own among 7th Circle magicians. Yet he, along with seven other war magicians had been wiped out in ten minutes?

This was an opponent they absolutely couldn’t fight.

“2nd Carriage, get ready! 3rd Carriage, 6th Combat Formation! Don’t hesitate!”

A thunderous shout broke the stunned silence. Anton, a veteran of the Blue Tower and the next highest ranking person in this convoy after Herman, was the first to recover. He had years of field experience, so he was the first to complete the cold calculation and come to the obvious conclusion. He started casting scouting spells as he yelled out commands.

However, Anton couldn’t see beyond the bonfire in the distance. “Tch, this is why fire-based magic is so annoying!”

The air in the atmosphere was still distorted from the high temperature of the battlefield, and the smoke and flames were obscuring his spells. It would take another thirty minutes for the battlefield to clear enough to see their opponents. So Anton abandoned the task of trying to identify their enemies and quickly made his way to Theo.

He grabbed Theo’s shoulder. “Hey, newbie!”

To his surprise, Theo seemed calm. “Yes?”

Anton had expected a worse reaction, but Theo’s voice was even. His breathing, eyes, and calm magic power didn’t fit his age. Anton silently judged that the rumors about Theo being a super rookie didn’t seem all that implausible. At the very least, Theo had the atmosphere of a warrior who was used to unexpected events.

Anton decided to take another tack, and spoke decisively, “From now, your only priority is to keep her safe. We’ll be buying as much time as we can. Just hold on until Veronica arrives. Got it?”

Theo’s eyes hardened. “I will do my best.”

“Unusually careful for a Red Tower magician, aren’t you? Okay, I’m going.” Anton squeezed Theo’s shoulder in farewell, before shouting at the four magicians steering the 2nd Carriage, “Get moving! The direction doesn’t matter, as long as you get as far as possible!”

A terrifying gust of wind blew out of the magicians’ hands and filled the carriage’s sails. The carriage sprang forward, and continued to accelerate as the White Tower magicians increased their output. Anton kept an eye on the carriage until it disappeared among the trees.

“Now, then…” Anton turned to appraise his colleagues, who had taken their places in a unique formation of the Blue Tower.

Although they had a rivalry with the Red Tower, it was never malicious or hostile. Rather, their arguments often allowed the two Towers to enjoy a closer relationship than other Towers. For example, the 1st Carriage had a proud Red Tower magician who had often argued with Anton as they had made their way through the ranks in the capital. Still, Anton had never hated him.

Wuooooong...!

Unlike their counterparts in the Red Tower, Blue Tower magicians fought as a team. They had the ability to share magic with each other and were taught how to synergize and bring out power beyond the sum of their parts. They may be weaker in single combat, but the Blue Tower boasted an offensive strength that was not a single whit inferior to the Red Tower in group battles.

The enemy is coming.

In the center of the formation, Anton watched the bonfire flickering with a determined expression. He could feel the mana thinning. That was the sense of incongruity he had felt before. Their opponent seemed to be on a totally different dimension from senior magicians and sword masters. It felt like it could overwhelm the world with just its presence. His intuition warned him of the opponent’s caliber before it appeared before them.

A figure appeared out of the haze, and stood before them.

Anton smiled bitterly. “So… this is where I die.”

The other magicians were silent. Rather, they couldn’t speak. Just the fact that Anton could speak meant that Anton deserved to be called the best magician among them. But to their credit, despite knowing the outcome of the battle, none of the seven magicians took a single step back.

Anton spoke a word, and Meltor’s magicians sprang forward.

***

Dududududu...!

The gust carriage was still accelerating. The four 5th Circle magicians weren’t conserving their energy anymore as they pushed the carriage to the limit of its speed. The carriage would bounce into the air every time it hit a stone, but the carriage’s sails continued to strain as the carriage maintained its maximum speed.

The atmosphere inside the carriage was grim as well.

An opponent who can kill Elder Herman is at least master level. But there are only a few kingdoms who could spare such strength for a risky infiltration operation like this. 

Theo was calmly analyzing his situation. The experience of two lives were worth their weight in gold when he faced a crisis.

An unidentified opponent had blocked the convoy and annihilated the elite guard, including Elder Herman. The only candidate Theo could imagine capable of such an act was one of Andras Empire’s famed sword masters, one of the Seven Swords.

However, why would Andras Empire take such a risk? Theo could only reject his theory when he took the larger political situation into account.

Even if one of the Seven Swords infiltrated Meltor, there’s no guarantee that they can return. Why would they risk one of the pillars of the empire? That’s just crazy.

Moreover, the Andras Empire had no use for a high elf. It would only worsen their relationship with Elvenheim, and they ran the risk of losing one of their precious sword masters. However, he simply couldn’t think of any other candidates. It was preposterous that an unaffiliated master would be mobilized.

His logical reasoning couldn’t reveal the shadows behind this situation. While Theo was frustrated over not finding an answer, Ellenoa quietly asked, “... Is something scary happening because of me?”

Theo was surprised. “Ellenoa.”

She continued, “If I hadn’t left the village... if I wasn’t a high elf... this wouldn’t have happened, right?”

It was a very cruel question to affirm. More than anything, Ellenoa already knew the answer. However, Theo didn’t nod. Fortunately, he was still young and could still look at the world through good and evil, not cause and effect. So, he was able to comfort Ellenoa.

Theodore grasped Ellenoa’s hands gently, like she had done to him before. “Don’t blame yourself.”

At the very least, she shouldn’t feel guilty.

He continued, “You are the victim here. Evil came after you, not the other way around, just because you are a high elf! Don’t act like you are the perpetrator of this.”

She stammered, “B-But...”

Theo shook his head firmly. “Or just feel sad. Don’t feel guilty.”

Even if all this happened because she was a high elf, the perpetrator and victim were clear. Theo would never agree with blaming the victim. If that was the case, then the ones in the wrong were the ones who were scammed or murdered.

Ellenoa was astonished by his firm words, but she immediately nodded with a slight smile. The atmosphere started to warm up again.

Warak!

Theo lunged over and pulled Ellenoa in his arms.

“T-Theodore!” Ellenoa blushed, but that quickly faded away when she noticed his expression.

Theo was so pale that he almost looked bloodless. His intuition was screaming at him that he was in imminent danger!

Impossible! It caught up already?!

Theo couldn’t believe that it had broken through the elites of the 3rd Carriages and caught up with the maximum speed of the carriage in such a short time. A sword master’s physical abilities might be called strange, but the enemy approaching this carriage seemed like a monster that defied common sense. This didn’t seem possible.

His only warning was a chill that ran down his neck. There wasn’t even time to speak a word of warning as the reaper’s scythe swept through the carriage.

“Protection!”

Theodore screamed the spell as he threw himself out of the gust carriage with Ellenoa safely in his arms. He bounced off the ground but the 5th Circle defense spell kept the worst of the impact from hurting them. However, his judgment was correct. The moment the two of them escaped the gust carriage, a huge shadow fell over it.

What… The…

It was like a meteor strike as the gust carriage was smashed flat. The impact sent a shockwave barreling outward, forcing Theo to cast another Protection.

What’s with that shockwave?! That isn’t magic!

Theo was horrified as his defense spell weathered a shockwave generated from pure physical impact. He was half-ready to believe that this shockwave was the enemy’s actual attack, but it just seemed like a meaningless consequence of its landing. If he hadn’t used Protection again, Theo and Ellenoa would be suffering serious internal injury.

Theo took a few steps back with Ellenoa. He had no thoughts about running away. Theo was just overwhelmed by the eerie presence he could sense within the cloud of dust. Whatever it was, it wasn’t something they could face. He could feel fear beginning to outpace his curiosity. He would rather have that dust cloud cover his eyes forever. However, the wind blew it away.

Huuooong...

When the dust settled, the first thing he saw was the crushed wreckage of the gust carriage. There were traces of blood from the magicians who had died from the impact splattered across the carriage. A figure picked itself out of the carriage’s remains.

Theo gritted his teeth as the figure rose to its full height. Finally, the two of them realized who had attacked them.

... Ah.

Theo understood what had happened to the 1st and 2nd Carriages now. This was the incarnation of death, the materialization of fear in a solid form. It wasn’t a human. No, it wasn’t like any creature he knew. The ugly and powerful monster was too ambiguous and confusing to name. It couldn’t be called anything but chaos.

The lower half of its body resembled a spider with eight twitching legs. The upper half of the body was covered in a matte carapace, while a tough leather protected its underbelly. A scorpion-like tail shivered in the air, as electric sparks bounced from segment to segment. Four different kinds of claws opened and closed as Theo and Elleona stared in horror.

As they watched, the creature morphed before them. The arms of an ogre grew out of its body, along with the horns of a minotaur. Wyvern-like wings unfurled from its back, as scales grew over its body.

But as Theo and Elleona were caught in disbelief and horror, another existence woke up.

- Hrmm.

A hole appeared on Theo’s left palm, and a quiet low frequency voice rang out. The greedy grimoire, Gluttony, growled in a voice which was several times more displeased than usual.

- Pride, that disgusting appearance of yours still hasn’t changed.

The monster approaching them suddenly froze in place. After a moment, it raised a claw and swiped across its face. It looked like it was slashing itself, but the smooth cut parted to form a mouth. Another low frequency voice rumbled through the air.

- And you still have the habit of being attached to an inferior species, Gluttony.