Finally, the group from the Imperial Tower set off towards the Purple Magic Tower, leading the prisoners. The time for the death match had come!
“Hmm….”
At the forefront were Ezekiel, Agnes, and Seina, with Agnes expressing her concerns.
“There are some people you should never trust, and that’s the folks at the Purple Magic Tower. Who knows what scheme they’re plotting.”
Seina vigorously nodded in agreement while sneaking glances at Herta behind them.
“I’m beginning to wonder if she’s hiding to rescue other prisoners from the Magic Tower. It really feels suspicious.”
However, Ezekiel accepted Herta’s request.
Holding Sunweed in his mouth, he said, “If she’s as dangerous as you think, then even more reason to keep her around. It’s better to take her in and eliminate her during the death match.”
“That’s true, but I’m worried about the Inspector getting tangled up in trouble again…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Ezekiel cut off the two women’s worries.
“I’ll protect both of you perfectly.”
The women instinctively chewed their lips, unable to press Ezekiel further. His resolve was so solid that they didn’t dare try to sway him.
Ezekiel exhaled the smoke and continued speaking.
“That Herta woman had some unique requests, didn’t she?”
“…That’s true.”
Agnes quietly nodded.
The three recalled what Herta had said earlier.
—“I’ll be transported in a separate carriage. It would be more trustworthy, and I’d prefer it. I don’t like the other mages from the Magic Tower.”
Herta’s request was indeed peculiar; she chose to be transported separately from the other mages.
Seina tilted her head in confusion.
“She participated in the death match to protect something precious. Yet, she doesn’t like the other mages from the Magic Tower and wants to be moved separately… What could that possibly mean?”
“Nevertheless, it does make things easier for us. She’s on a special carriage that prevents telepathic messages from getting through. At least the mages from the Magic Tower can’t conspire together.”
Ezekiel shared a similar thought with Seina.
She said she was participating in the death match to protect something precious, but she hated all the mages from the Magic Tower.
They still couldn’t discern the meaning behind it.
Moreover, the reaction of the captive mages in the back was strange.
“…Is it true that Herta decided to participate in this death match? What in the world could be her reason?”
“I wonder that too. She’s someone who usually never gets involved with Magic Tower affairs, even if the heavens split in two.”
Only the mages were puzzled at Herta’s participation; there was no one rejoicing at her coming to rescue them.
It was a first for Herta to participate.
Occasionally, Zeta spoke towards Herta’s carriage.
“Herta, what the hell are you thinking?”
But no response came from the soundproofed carriage. Their journey towards the Purple Magic Tower continued on for quite a while.
They traveled nonstop for half a day.
During mealtime, they could catch a glimpse of Herta. Ezekiel personally provided her food.
“I smell the territory of the Magic Tower. It’s a nice land.”
As Ezekiel opened the carriage door to give her food, Herta suddenly mumbled that.
“Even though fiends often appear and the weather has been rough, it was a great place for me. Listening to the loud rumble of thunder really clears my mind.”
It was unclear whether it was meant as a soliloquy or for him to hear. Nevertheless, Herta continued her monologue.
“I wished the Magic Tower could summon lightning. A bright and booming magic tower.”
Just as Ezekiel was about to close the carriage door, suddenly—
“YOU LITTLE—!”
In an instant, the surroundings darkened, and a tremendous mana was felt. Ezekiel quickly assessed the situation.
Fiends had launched an attack.
In that fleeting moment, he thought. Ezekiel had gained the titles of Demon Lord and Fiend from the Demon King. No fiend would dare to attack so openly.
He quickly scanned the area.
‘Dullahan.’
Headless armored figures charged forward with swords infused with mana. All the fiends appearing from every direction were Dullahans.
Only then did he understand.
He had pierced through the chest of Han-shin, the leader of the Dullahans, and even destroyed the entirety of his city.
‘They must have a tremendous grudge against me.’
It was something he had expected, but he regretted the timing. To have troublesome matters arise just before the death match.
Screeeeee!
The Dullahans didn’t just swing their swords. As they drew their swords, the mana on their blades formed crescent shapes that shot out.
Ka-boooom!
A single sword strike brought down a building. It was beyond anything easily defendable.
“Stepping onto the continent, with no fear at all.”
“We have come to avenge Han-shin!”
The Dullahans shouted in unison.
Now that Han-shin was him, Ezekiel thought.
If he were alone, he wouldn’t have any worries about the battle, but the problem was that there were captive mages from the Magic Tower.
‘I can’t just untie their special bindings.’
To protect the captive mages from the Magic Tower, he needed to dominate them. He had to fight while fully safeguarding them all.
But what could he do?
“Let’s just do it,” he thought at that moment.
Boom!
Suddenly, golden lightning struck the sky, thick lines of mana containing an immense amount of power.
The cause was the next Magic Tower head, Herta.
As the Dullahans’ sword strikes blew up the carriage, Herta was temporarily freed.
Fortunately, the woman focused solely on eliminating the fiends.
Boom!
Once again, the golden lightning struck.
Only after witnessing Herta’s prowess did Zeta realize that his golden lightning was nothing compared to it. The brightness, thickness, sound, density… everything was on another level.
“…?”
The Dullahans looked utterly flabbergasted.
It wasn’t that there was tremendous lightning striking; they had gotten struck by lightning without realizing it.
“…It sounds loud, but it seems like it does nothing?”
“There’s no substance to it at all.”
As the Dullahans mocked with scornful voices, something truly bizarre occurred.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Suddenly, the Dullahans’ mana began to run wild.
Initially, they thought it might be an awakening, but that wasn’t the case. The Dullahans were panic-stricken. The surroundings began to forcibly siphon their mana.
“W-wait, the mana’s out of control…!”
“AHHHHHHH!”
The Dullahans began swinging their swords wildly to unleash the rampaging power, ultimately self-destructing as they clashed with each other’s swords and mana.
“The flow within their bodies… has been forcibly accelerated…?”
Agnes muttered in disbelief.
What would happen if you forced a human to run to survive? They would have no choice but to run, but there would be an end due to fatigue.
Ultimately, they would collapse and die from complete exhaustion.
Herta’s lightning magic worked in the same way. It forcibly rampaged the energy of the target and, if they didn’t release all their power, would kill them painfully.
However, in the end, even if they released it all, they would die because they would be completely exhausted with no way to survive.
“AHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHH—!”
With no way to endure the pain, the Dullahans started to writhe. As they collided into one another, self-destructing, Herta looked at Ezekiel.
“Am I really going to reveal the trick of my lightning to my opponent in the death match? Honestly, it’s not the smartest move. But there’s at least one thing I can make sure of.”
Her golden slit eyes turned towards Ezekiel.
“I can warn you. It might not be of benefit for you to engage in a death match with me. Think about it.”
“What do you mean think about it?”
“Why not execute me right away without going through the death match? That’s what I’m proposing.”
Crack! Crack!
The Dullahans, broken by their own swords, were left as ugly scraps on the ground. Even with just one exposure to Herta’s lightning, this was the result.
Not to mention the operational control was impeccable.
While every Dullahan was rampaging and lost to madness, the human mages here remained completely unharmed.
Realizing such extraordinary magic was being employed while suggesting execution, Ezekiel began to grasp her intentions.
‘Is she worried about the Magic Tower’s shame?’
Ezekiel understood perfectly well what Herta wanted regarding his suggestion of a death match.
In front of the gathered crowd, she was suggesting he reveal all the sins of the Magic Tower and show them the gap in power before killing them. She intended to prevent that.
A moment later, Herta asked again.
“How about it? Has your thinking changed a bit?”
After some deliberation, he replied, “No, no change.”
Ezekiel’s mind hadn’t changed.
Herta’s request to overlook the sins of the Magic Tower was simply too great.
Hooom!
Ezekiel raised his energy.
A grayish air began to rise around him, quickly driving away the surrounding darkness, mixing three types of energy, even dispersing the woman’s lightning.
Soon, a frost dragon shot up into the sky.
Though it was a frost dragon, it transformed into a fire dragon, and finally, it circled, imbued with a crimson aura before vanishing.
Everyone here could feel it.
Chill, heat, mana… all three energies.
“I shared my trick too. You won’t feel wronged, will you?”
Herta maintained an expressionless façade.
In the distance, the Purple Magic Tower came into view.
At last, it was time to commence the death match!
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