“Finally…!”
Epona, the Master of the Magic Tower, covered her mouth.
Her widened eyes were filled with joy.
In the Master’s room on the 32nd floor, the door to the 33rd floor, leading to the top, had never opened even once since the tower was built.
But that door had just opened.
‘Is this really happening?!’
She wasn’t entirely sure why. All she knew was that something had changed about the powers of Eliya and Judas, and that was the influence behind it.
Like an exploding firestorm, the golden aura surged.
This was Eliya’s magic.
But suddenly, her magic had stabilized recently, without even a trace of soot from Judas’s powers. The cracks and shimmering lights that had decorated the area vanished, settling into calmness.
It was as if the combined power was finally complete.
Using various methods, she was able to open the door to the 33rd floor.
The seemingly ordinary door slowly creaked open.
Epona clutched her chest and stepped over the threshold.
Entering the long-abandoned space sent dust swirling everywhere.
With her mouth covered, she climbed the circular staircase.
And finally, she arrived on the 33rd floor.
Sunlight poured through the long narrow windows.
The light from all directions illuminated the center of the round room.
In the center rose a small altar, circular in shape.
On it rested a golden chalice.
‘The sealing holy grail.’
The primordial existence made of gold that had laid here since sealing the Evil God. Though interpretations differ by religion, most predict the coming apocalypse.
They even foretell of a savior to stop it.
The holy grail is often mentioned in prophecies, said to be an artifact for the future savior.
Epona carefully lifted the chalice.
There were no special sensations or mysterious energies.
Truthfully, she wasn’t sure what she could do with this chalice. The 33rd floor had just opened for the first time today.
She needed to study what she could do here and what the chalice’s purpose might be.
‘First, let’s just get the chalice down.’
Epona carefully dusted off the chalice and returned to the 32nd floor.
The moment she was about to investigate the chalice with trembling anticipation…
Bang! Something shattered sharply in the background.
Nothing actually broke around her; there was no sound at all.
This was a reaction from a notification spell.
‘What is…’
Only one place had been set to send such a strong warning.
The site where the star shards and the sealing spell were hidden.
‘Catacombs?! Why?!’
Epona quickly used teleportation.
Previously, it took three trips to move, but ever since interacting with Eliya, she could reach her destination in just one jump.
An old, shabby ruin.
The entire ruin was ablaze fiercely.
At the center of the ruins was an entrance leading underground.
The wizards and soldiers guarding the entrance had all been mercilessly slain.
Epona quickly recognized the culprit.
‘Royal knights and the royal guards? And in the middle is… Emperor Johan! What is going on?!’
Having shown little interest in outside affairs, she was a bit late to catch on to the news.
‘What Johan is holding… is that the Sun Symbol?!’
That item which Eliya possessed was now in the Emperor’s hands.
That Emperor had attacked the Catacombs.
Inside the Catacombs were the sealing spells and the star shards related to mental manipulation.
With the star shards, the powers of the Sun Symbol could be activated.
‘Could it be…’
An artifact said to grant any miracle.
What does the Emperor want to do with that…?
“Oh no.”
At that moment, a voice from behind interrupted her thoughts.
“Look who decided to come out and watch, the esteemed Master of the Magic Tower.”
“…!”
Epona turned around and stumbled, landing on her backside.
A wizard in tattered robes appeared.
It was Geist, a member of the Royal Wizard Order.
“W-when did you…?”
“As expected from a bookworm lost in her studies, you’re slow to react. It’s unfortunate. I appreciate your knowledge and skills, but…”
Geist glanced at Epona’s hand.
The aged golden chalice.
The sealing holy grail.
“Having seen all this and taken that object, I can’t let you live.”
Geist quickly trapped Epona in a magical interference barrier.
He couldn’t afford to give a teleport user any openings.
Genuinely regretting it, he prepared to kill Epona.
But in that moment…
Crack! The translucent barrier cracked.
“…Huh?”
Then it crumbled away, and Epona vanished.
“……”
Geist stood there, dumbfounded.
“Magic that breaks a magic interference barrier?”
He processed what had just happened.
It was ridiculous.
A magic that nullifies magic interference was itself broken by magic.
Yet, Epona had done it.
‘This is impossible… Could it be… Eliya’s influence?’
The genius wizard known as the reincarnation of the mythic era.
Even Geist struggled to comprehend the force of her genius.
Eliya de Bevel.
The genius influenced and grew not just him, but many others.
“Wow…”
Geist managed a wry smile.
He had no idea where she had gone.
This was exactly why he had to eliminate her before leaving.
“I need to inform the Emperor to hurry with the plans.”
*
“Gah!”
Epona arrived at the front gate of Eliya’s Mansion.
The royal guards stationed at the entrance stopped her, on high alert.
After all, she had suddenly appeared via teleportation.
Moreover, as a hermit who had spent her time locked away in the Magic Tower, Epona’s appearance was not widely known despite her title.
“Who are you?!”
“State your identity!”
“I-I am Epona! Master of the Magic Tower! I’m here to find Eliya!”
“Master of the Magic Tower…?”
Jerry and Argon guarding the entrance didn’t believe her.
“Is the Master of the Magic Tower supposed to just show up like this? How do you even know what the Master of the Magic Tower looks like?”
“I’m not sure…”
But Epona insisted strongly.
“Please call Eliya! Quickly! This is urgent!”
Her face had turned pale.
The royal guards decided to convey her desperation.
Meeting was up to Eliya.
Jerry informed Dillon, who then, after obtaining permission, took Epona in.
Without even exchanging greetings, Epona jumped straight to the main topic.
“Eliya! This is a disaster!”
“…?”
“The Emperor has just attacked the Catacombs!”
“Catacombs?”
The place where the sealing spells and star shards were hidden?
Confirming she heard correctly, Eliya tilted her head, and Epona nodded vigorously.
“Exactly! And he’s got the Sun Symbol!”
“……”
“What is the Emperor trying to do…?”
“…Wait a second, Epona. What’s that chalice you have?”
“Uh, this? Ah, this is…”
The sealed holy grail she had found on the topmost level.
Eliya was staring intently at the golden chalice.
Epona hesitated to explain.
“I-I’ll explain later!”
This was not the important issue at hand.
Eliya shook her head.
She couldn’t comprehend why she had focused on that.
“I don’t know what he intends to do with the Sun Symbol, but it’s definitely not something good.”
Whatever his concrete intentions were, they had to stop the Emperor.
Eliya agreed with her.
An individual trying to activate a power in the Catacombs was unlikely to have good intentions.
Eliya ordered Dillon.
“Gather the royal guards.”
“Yes.”
Hermis was tasked with securing the mansion as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Judas had prepared to leave alongside them.
He donned his armor and readied the Moon’s Eye.
Eliya anxiously glanced at him.
She wanted to leave him behind.
If he were to get hurt again after bringing him along, what then?
Receiving her gaze, Judas smiled.
“You don’t have to worry.”
The Emperor was on the move.
Not knowing his intentions, the elite had to be taken along as much as possible.
It was unlikely Judas would stay behind if told to.
In the end, Eliya decided to go with him.
“…We must be careful.”
“Of course.”
Outside, 11 royal guards were already gathered.
Eliya cut to the chase.
“We’re going to kill the Emperor.”
Lighthearted words, as if she were just going for a stroll on the back mountain.
Johann’s intent was not for world peace and fair happiness.
There was no way he would heed anything asking him to simply stay put, regardless of his goals.
Besides, she couldn’t allow a person posing a threat to her and Judas’s peace to remain alive.
Without waiting for a reply, she used teleportation.
11 royal guards, Epona.
And her and Judas.
Though they were teleported as a group, they arrived neatly and accurately.
Epona gasped inwardly.
To bring this many and arrive without hesitation was astonishing.
While she understood it in her mind, feeling it each time was awe-inspiring.
A hill overlooking the Catacombs.
Eliya stated.
“It seems the star shards have already been retrieved and escaped.”
The small town-sized ruins were lonely and ablaze.
The remaining people were all corpses.
“Where could they have gone…?”
Epona murmured anxiously.
The royal guards began searching the area for traces or survivors.
In the meantime…
“……”
Eliya gazed off into a certain direction, deep in thought.
“Looks like it’s that way.”
“…Huh? How do you know that?”
“It’s just a hunch.”
“……”
Epona couldn’t ask any more.
Whenever it came to matters involving magic, Eliya had never been wrong.
Hastily gathering the royal guards again, Eliya cast a large-scale teleportation spell.
The scenery shifted in an instant.
The surroundings were desolate land.
A rugged desert.
In front of them loomed a hill, taller than the surrounding area.
It resembled a small mound.
Eliya recognized this place.
After the mythical era ended.
A land where all sinners who followed the Evil God were executed.
Cursed by the blood of criminals, no life was able to exist there afterwards.
‘Golgotha…’
On that hill stood Emperor Johann.
With the Sun Symbol raised high as if supporting the sun.
Surrounding him were the royal guards, the royal knights, and Geist.
And, grotesque soldiers twisted in face and muscle.
The black-magic enhanced soldiers that Eliya and Judas had seen in Judeca.
They all glared at Eliya and the group.
“…Duke Eliya.”
The Emperor slowly turned his body.
His face was filled with amiable smiles.
“Your rise is commendable, but you are a tad late.”
“…What do you intend to do with that item?”
“I shall open a new era.”
The enemy had already surrounded Eliya and her group.
The royal guards instinctively drew their weapons.
Judas held the Moon’s Eye and stood by Eliya’s side.
“This world has been neglected far too long.”
The Emperor gazed at the sky.
His green eyes sparkled dreamily.
“It’s stagnant, rotting; it can no longer be reversed. It is impossible for humans alone to end this long war. The issue isn’t solely with the demon race. Humans refuse to self-correct. They commit sins freely, sheltered by the name of gods. We must live under gods; we must not use them. But the gods provide us with no answers.”
He grasped the spear he held to his side.
The holy relic said to have inflicted a fatal wound upon the Evil God during sealing.
“There’s no need for such gods in this world. Thus, I shall rule the world rightly with a new order in place, taking the place of the gods.”
Eliya simply gazed back into the Emperor’s eyes.
Sparkling eyes.
A face filled with joy.
‘He’s lost it.’
His thinking was a solitary delusion turned into faith.
‘He’s intoxicated with his own deification.’
And the Emperor was a figure of authority—capable of imposing that idolization onto others.
‘There’s no terrifying leader like a madman.’
The Emperor continued smiling as he spoke.
“I will revive the Evil God, and I will become that evil god’s apostle to rule this world. The existing gods are dead.”
“Your aspirations are rather petty, aren’t they?”
“Did you think you could become a god? While relinquishing the senses one enjoys as a human? What a fool’s errand. Humans cannot become gods.”
“A rather hedonistic view you have.”
“All remaining humans shall live under a single order, blissfully and without doubt. Surely that would be good for you too, wouldn’t it?”
“Not quite…”
Eliya cast a glance at Judas.
Calmly surveying their surroundings.
A smirk escaped her lips.
As always, he was willing to sacrifice himself for his freedom, even if it meant death.
The reason he sought to stop this mad Emperor was simple.
A world where this boy was not free must not exist.
“I cannot agree.”
No sooner had Eliya finished her statement than a lightning bolt crashed from the clear blue sky.
-Bang!
The air split apart with a thunderous sound.
Golden lightning struck directly at the Emperor.
But he neither died nor was injured.
A dark light swelled from his body.
Beneath the black light flickered a platinum glow resembling divine power.
Two opposing hues mixed together to shield Johann.
“Is this the reason for dabbling in dark magic…?”
Just as he had brainwashed and enhanced the Empire’s soldiers.
The Emperor had fortified his body with dark magic.
Unlike the twisted soldiers, the Emperor’s body appeared unscathed.
Though he remained unharmed, but thankfully, they successfully made the Sun Symbol drop.
The circular Sun Symbol hit the ground.
“Your abilities are far too bothersome.”
The Emperor pointed at a few soldiers.
The soldiers began to flee with the Sun Symbol and star shards in hand.
Since they were brainwashed, they would carry out the Emperor’s wishes without fail.
Once they were far enough away to not disturb Eliya, their wish would be granted.
Eliya tried to block their path but hesitated.
Geist, the head of the Royal Wizard Order, was watching her intently.
Waiting for any movement.
‘…Something feels different.’
His aura felt far more dangerous and dirty than when she had faced him before.
‘I can’t make any reckless moves.’
Instead, Eliya commanded the Master of the Magic Tower and the royal guards.
“Chase after them. As quickly as possible.”
“Roger!”
Epona nodded.
Dike and Argon followed behind her.
Although several soldiers blocked their way, they disappeared with a wave of Eliya’s hand.
‘This is a race against time.’
Whether the Sun Symbol activates.
Or whether they capture it before activation.
Or even if everything is decided here first.
The Emperor aimed his spear and spoke.
“There’s no choice but to block you.”
Eliya no longer bore any traces of red in her eyes.
They shone bright gold.
“As long as you can, go ahead.”
Immediately after she spoke, a scorching heat and light struck the ground.
Everyone squinted and looked up.
A sun had begun to descend from the sky.
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