Next Tower Master Herta.
She said she wanted to save the Magic Tower.
Not that she wanted the mages of the Magic Tower to be saved. It meant that she hoped one day a pure Purple Magic Tower would be established.
The woman’s actions were extraordinary. She appeared after directly severing her own brother’s neck and engaged in a death match.
Every move she made afterward was filled with her utmost effort. Despite knowing her abilities couldn’t match Ezekiel’s, she calmly did her best.
In other words.
She wasn’t afraid to shine like brilliant lightning.
Perhaps that’s why.
Now that the death match has just ended.
The Magic Tower began to purify itself automatically.
“Magic Tower, you trashy bastards! You let such mages be neglected while committing all sorts of crimes?”
“The rest have no value to live! That just now was the true lightning element; you all are fake!”
“No need for a death match! You trash!”
What resonated with Herta’s golden lightning wasn’t only the mages of the Magic Tower. The effect it had on the mages of other towers was even greater.
They had no choice but to acknowledge it, even if it wasn’t their main element. It was that noble and radiant.
“Die! Die, you trash…!”
“I’ll make it the most painful death!”
Eventually, those who couldn’t hold back began private retributions.
Magic started bursting from the audience like stones, and the mages of the Magic Tower, realizing their shame, didn’t resist…. The whole scene was captured in Ezekiel’s sight.
The Inspector of the Imperial Tower.
Ezekiel thought. This could also be a way for punishment and purification to occur simultaneously.
Pak—! Pak—!
“You ignorant fools…!”
“Your very existence is a sin!”
So furious were they that some intentionally refrained from using magic and resorted to beating the mages of the Magic Tower with their bodies.
Ezekiel didn’t stop them. He couldn’t even if he tried. At this moment, all the pity directed at Herta turned into resentment toward the Magic Tower.
‘Chose not to extinguish but to restart.’
That was Herta’s last plea.
Today, he would cut out the rotten parts of the Purple Magic Tower, but the tower itself wouldn’t be extinguished.
Purification, not extinction. Coincidentally, what Herta wanted and what Ezekiel wanted were similar.
Gah… Gah!
The bloodied mages of the Magic Tower were thrown one by one toward the training ground’s center. There was no way to save them now. They were also rotten parts of the tower.
And finally.
Ugh…!
The elder of the Purple Magic Tower, Gendiz, was thrown at Ezekiel’s feet. He was covered in blood from head to toe.
The furious spectators fell silent at last.
Not that their anger had subsided.
They were merely waiting for the Inspector to carry out the punishment himself.
“….”
Gendiz said nothing.
His expression held a sense of resolve.
After all, this old man was also a mage. There might be something he could feel when witnessing such tremendous magic.
His expression was filled with regret.
Maybe it was because he was influenced by Herta’s golden lightning. Or perhaps because he was fully aware of all the wrongdoings he had committed. Probably both.
Two elite members of the Magic Tower had died; thus, Gendiz was now the highest in rank within the tower. He struggled to look up at Ezekiel.
“Inspector.”
The old man spoke softly.
“Please, kill me.”
“….”
For a moment, Ezekiel fell silent.
“Have you finally realized your sins?”
“…Yes.”
Gendiz replied in a weak voice. Blood covered the white beard he had proudly maintained.
“Feeling the wrath of all the mages is truly overwhelming. The Magic Tower has indeed been on the wrong path.”
Ezekiel calmly listened to Gendiz’s words.
It wasn’t that he was attentively listening; he was merely curious about what he would ramble on about.
“I could say I created the current Magic Tower. Thanks to my position as elder, everything went according to my will. What sins do the elite siblings or ordinary mages bear? They are all my sins.”
Interestingly, the Purple Magic Tower was a tower where decisions were made through meetings among elders without electing a master.
Even Herta, the next Tower Master, couldn’t ultimately take that position, which meant Gendiz had effectively been the master all along.
“My greed… my greed created all this. But seeing Herta’s lightning, I felt something tremendous; it was indeed pure lightning. The lightning I handled had become so murky by now….”
“If you had lived, you would have made a great Tower Master.”
“True. I didn’t want to give up my position as elder, so I never allowed Herta to ascend to the position of Tower Master. This too is my greed….”
Gendiz’s deep eyes turned toward Ezekiel.
“I have no right to partake in this death match. I am the culprit who let the Purple Magic Tower rot. Please, kill me.”
With those words, the old man closed his eyes. As if he would accept death calmly.
Ezekiel didn’t say anything either.
Only, the Inspector radiated a chill. Towards the old man lying on the training ground, waiting for death.
Ssss—
The tips of Gendiz’s fingers were slightly frozen.
And in the next moment.
Pachin—!
The frozen tip of his finger was crushed beneath Ezekiel’s foot.
“─!”
Gendiz’s eyes opened wide immediately. It was a pain so intense he could hardly maintain his composure.
“I feel nauseous.”
Ezekiel muttered as he looked down at the old man.
Even his calm acceptance of death was disgusting. The old man was firmly mistaken.
He thought this would be enough for him to repent, that his death would be as significant as Herta’s.
But Ezekiel wasn’t confused. The deaths of Herta and Gendiz could never be the same.
Ssss—!
He froze the next joint of Gendiz’s finger. Then, once again, lifted his foot.
To offer the greatest pain possible.
Pak—!
“Guhh…!”
The old man couldn’t endure the pain and his eyes widened. Confusion glazed his expression.
“W-why…!”
“Don’t mistake yourself for Herta.”
Ezekiel replied calmly.
“I allowed Herta to pass away comfortably. She always considered death from the beginning, and her intentions were noble.”
Slither…
Ezekiel’s chill took form as tightly woven needles. The next moment, all of them pierced under Gendiz’s fingernails with a soft thud sound.
“Guh, guuuaaaaaah!”
“But you? Not only did you let the tower rot, but you also committed all sorts of sins and involved the elite to cover it all up. To think you’d reconcile it with death?”
J-just a moment… just a moment to talk…!
“Mark this well. Your death is so insignificant that it cannot repay anything. Living and suffering as much as you can is the only form of atonement you can do.”
Pak—! Pak—!
Ezekiel crushed the next joint of Gendiz’s body, then shattered the next joint again.
“Guhh…! Guhh…!”
Gendiz writhed in immense pain. His once deeply sunk eyes were now bulging as if they would pop out at any moment.
At that moment, the silence in the audience began to break. Responses toward the punishment came forth immediately.
“The one responsible for rotting an entire Magic Tower…!”
“Never let him die in peace! He committed all kinds of sins and now pretends to be indifferent? Disgusting!”
“If it weren’t for his vile greed, that woman would be the Tower Master by now…!”
The voices sneering at the Purple Magic Tower were overwhelming.
It was, objectively, quite natural. There was no way to turn back now, and it was too late to repent.
To grant a peaceful death? That was impossible.
Pak—!
Ezekiel crushed yet another part of Gendiz’s body and spoke. By now, remnants of Anes’s cube-like fragments were piled next to Gendiz.
“Listen carefully to your life’s evaluation, piece by piece. After you die, will it be any different? No one will remember you fondly.”
“Guh, guuh….”
“Completely belittled, utterly cursed. Not even your grave will remain, and those who recall you will feel disgust. That’s how you will be remembered.”
“A-aah…!”
Finally, remorse filled Gendiz’s face. That expression was what Ezekiel wanted to see.
The once smug old man now showed regret for life. A face full of regret.
“Regret it. Although it won’t help you at all.”
Ezekiel muttered that and continued the torture.
Pak—!
“Gaaaah—!”
Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes.
It wasn’t just the pain causing this. The fact that he was hated by the whole world and would be cursed even after death terrified him deeply.
Ezekiel thought.
Childishly, anew, what a trashy bastard.
Pak—!
It took an astounding 14 hours to crush Gendiz’s entire body. He inserted ice needles under every fingernail and began slowly crushing his arms and legs.
“Gugh, gugh…! Please, please, please…!”
Pak—!
Finally, when he crushed his head as well. 15 hours.
Amazingly, no one left their seats. They had witnessed the gruesome fate of the elder of the Magic Tower clearly.
It was the ultimate consequence brought on by the Purple Magic Tower’s sins.
Truly deserved.
On the way back to the Imperial Family.
“Did you handle the Magic Tower mages well?”
“Yes, Inspector.”
Anes nodded.
“I threw them into the forest full of bugs after severing their limbs. They’ll die slowly in agony.”
“The building of the Magic Tower has been completely destroyed.”
Seina chimed in, who was nearby.
“Just as you ordered, only the children dreaming of the lightning element while attending the academy were spared.”
“That’s enough.”
Though the Purple Magic Tower had been destroyed, it wasn’t extinguished.
Not extinction, but a restart.
It would take a long time, but the children who remembered Herta’s golden lightning would grow and rebuild the tower again. It would take a while to watch.
Anes spoke again.
“All emergency relief magic and items owned by the Purple Magic Tower will be transferred to the Imperial Family.”
“Alright.”
Ezekiel currently held one item from the Magic Tower in his possession. Strong Vital Water, an elixir that could forcibly revive demonic beings at least once.
“Everyone worked hard. Handle your respective tasks, and we’ll meet again.”
Right after arriving at the Imperial Family.
Ezekiel quickly brought Seina and Anes along. He had a very urgent place to visit.
Padadak— Padadak—
With hurried steps, they finally arrived deep within the infirmary. Lying on the bed was the woman Ezekiel so desperately wanted to save.
Goddess Arcne.
Her condition was very critical. A massive hole pierced her upper body, and she couldn’t recover by herself.
“I’m back.”
With a brief greeting, Ezekiel carefully poured Strong Vital Water over Arcne’s heart.
The response came immediately.
Thump—!
Arcne’s heart began to beat strongly.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.