Chapter 136
Joshua moved fast because no one was here to stop him. After all, the Imperial Family had given up control of this place.
The border town gave off an eerie silence.
The sun was still up, but the desolate border town was already giving off a bleak aura.
‘It’s so quiet, and there’s no one here. There aren’t even any traces of the Imperial Family…;
Joshua soon found a big castle gate.
Joshua frowned as he looked up at the castle gate. Eventually, he made a decision and waved his hand, sending a mass of mana crashing into the massive gate, which triggered a huge explosion.
A cloud of dust filled the air and coated everything with a layer of dust.
When the dust settled, Joshua finally saw what was beyond the castle gate.
However, the sight he saw made him even more suspicious of things.
‘There is no trace of life,’?Joshua muttered to himself.
The castle was in immaculate condition despite being abandoned for three years now. Aside from the spider webs on the ceiling, the interior of the castle looked like someone had been maintaining them, and it made Joshua feel weird.
‘There are signs of combat, and the participants were using aura to fight.'
Deep scars marred the walls, obviously from a sword.
Joshua's eyes gleamed brightly as he inspected the castle.
‘Energy… there was a burst of energy here.’?Joshua briefly closed his eyes to focus on the traces of energy in the air. He soon opened both of his eyes, and he stared at a particular location.
He was staring at the stairwell that led to the second floor. The weird energy was seeping out of the left hallway.
Step, step, step…
In the long hallway, only Joshua's footsteps could be heard.
There wasn’t anything around at all. Aside from the weird energy, there wasn’t anything aside from the luxurious and extravagant objects here, as well as the interior, which indicated that a noble once lived here.
At the end of the hallway on the left, Joshua stopped walking. There wasn’t really anything blocking his path, but Joshua stopped on the wall because of a tiny mana fluctuation that could only be sensed around where he was standing right now.
“Illusion Magic—”
It was a high-class illusion spell cast by a high-class mage.
“...”
It blended perfectly with its surroundings.
Joshua concentrated his mana into his earring and muttered to himself, ‘Anti-Magic Field.’
Crack!
The sound of glass being shattered echoed in Joshua’s ears. With the illusion shattered, the secret entrance being concealed by the illusion spell could finally be seen.
“It’s a route to the castle's basement.”
Joshua’s eyes brightened. He was about to go down when he noticed something.
“This…”
He saw inscriptions on the wall next to the secret entrance.
At first glance, it seemed to have been drawn by a child.
It depicted the image of a triangular monster head with two jutting horns. Directly above the monster was a star inside a circle. The circle seemed to be a magic circle, and it was positioned directly above the head. On the cheeks of the head was a triangle with the number ‘1’ carved inside the triangle, and there was a cross on the monster’s forehead.
“Seems like these were made recently…”
Joshua inspected the image, but his eyes suddenly widened.
He was in an enclosed space, so there should have been no wind around here, but he suddenly felt a breeze. The wind was coming from the basement, and it seemed to have been made by someone else.
He flung himself down the stairs without hesitation. The weird energy coming from below was nothing like he had ever felt before.
***
On the highest floor of the Magic Tower…
There were mages sitting in front of a roundtable. Aside from the vacant Thunder and Storm seats, everyone else had gathered here.
“Now that everyone has assembled, let me begin the meeting by telling you something.”
Marcus Lindbloom, the holder of the Earth Seat, who seemed more tranquil than everyone else, took the initiative to speak. It meant that he was taking the issue they were about to discuss more seriously than anyone else.
“First of all, Tower Master. Why did you dispatch mages working directly for the Magic Tower to the Avalon Empire?” asked Marcus while glancing at Ian.
“...” Ian remained silent.
At that, Marcus continued. “You dispatched our mages to the area where the undead has been discovered. It is apparently the reason why the Hubalt Empire was investigating the place, and I am afraid that our Tower will be implicated if they were to discover our involvement.”
“I agree. I also think that it’s problematic how the Tower Master’s decision to send Theta to the Reinhardt Masters’ Battle as the Tower’s representative without discussing it with us beforehand,” said Elisha, the holder of the Frost seat.
The others didn’t say anything, but it was clear from their expressions that they shared the same sentiment.
At that, Tower Master Ian finally spoke, “The reason why I made Theta participate in the Masters’ Battle is that in the Magic Tower, I’m the only one who is more talented than him.”
“...!” The eyes of the other mages widened, and they kicked up a fuss.
“What does the Tower Master mean by that? Regardless of his talent, he’s still the youngest among us, so—” one of the mages started.
However, Tower Master Ian interrupted them by saying, “Theta’s skills are not to be taken lightly. In terms of talent, that youngster can even surpass me. I can bet on my name that there are only three mages on this continent who can guarantee victory against him in a duel.”
“In that case… ”Elisha took a deep breath. She seemed bewildered as she asked, “Who are the other two people whose power the Tower Master acknowledges? Is one of them the previous royal head mage of Terra? Is it Astello?”
Tower Master Ian shook his head and said, “He’s old, and he’s definitely weaker than me. One of the two is Evergrant, the current Imperial Chief Mage of the Imperial Family of the Avalon Empire. It was also at his request that we sent mages from our Tower.”
“...!” Elisha went agape at Tower Master Ian’s unexpected words. “E-Evergrant? The traitor?”
At that, Marcus interjected with a resolute look. “Tower Master. Forgive me, but I also cannot understand it. Why did you fulfill his request when he has already left the tower? I believe that the Tower Master is making this decision based on personal feelings.”
In response, Tower Master Ian lowered his voice and said, “It’s because it involves the second individual I acknowledge.”
“The second?”
“Remember what Evergrant said the day he left for the first time? He declared that he would follow that twenty-year-old man’s footprints.”
Thud!
Once Tower Master Ian’s words fell, a chair fell to the floor, eliciting a loud noise.
The chair belonged to Marcus. He had sprung up from his chair, and he stood there with an expression that depicted a mixture of surprise and fear. He then muttered in a trembling voice, “N-no… there’s no way...”
It was a peculiar mixture of emotions considering Marcus’ usual demeanor. He had always been a composed and calm man, so this was a startling, violent shift in attitude.
However, Tower Master Ian continued in a calm voice. “Evergrant admired the man who coined the term ‘Battle Mage’ more than anyone else, and he swore he would follow the man’s traces. Evergrant progressed to the point that he finally discovered the man’s birthplace—Avalon.”
Tower Master Ian’s expression turned complicated for a moment before he continued. “It seems that he now has other objectives, but his original goal had always been to locate that man.”
Elisha always seemed like a block of ice with how expressionless she was usually, but now, she was trembling as she muttered in a shaky voice. “Perhaps…”
It was a name that had long been forgotten. He was someone who shone more brilliantly than anyone else, but he was also doomed to suffer a horrible end.
He was the first battle mage of the continent as well as Avalon, and he was talented and skillful enough that even the Magic Kingdom Terra was drooling to drag him over to their side. He was also the only human with a strong relationship with the elves and the only human who received a blessing from the high elves in the form of his family’s heirloom—Elf’s Tears.
Elisha finally recalled the man’s name, and she muttered, “J-Jerath dek Orbis…”
***
“...” Joshua kept quiet while staring at the road up ahead.
He was definitely in a secret basement, but he still hadn’t found anything extraordinary in here.
Joshua continued walking in the long hallway until he saw a room with a path in the rear.
However, the moment Joshua entered the room, he discovered a young man lying on the ground in the middle of the room.
Joshua could hear the young man’s faint breathing, so he was definitely still alive.
“He must be the priest who apparently vanished, and…” Joshua scowled while looking at the dark figure standing in front of the unconscious young man. The dark figure seemed to be satisfying its curiosity as it observed the unconscious young man.
The dark figure was powerful. It was just standing there, but the magic it was emitting was so strong it definitely deserved its name.
“A Death Knight.”
Flash!
The moment Joshua’s voice echoed within the room, the Death Knight’s two crimson eyes flared, and it emitted a wave of magic that was so powerful it was incomparable to anything Joshua had come across before in this regression.
Step.
The Death Knight stepped forward.
In response, Joshua immediately took on a stance, ready to fight.
However, someone else interjected.
- It’s mine.
“...!”
The voice echoed loudly in Joshua’s head.
‘Lugia?’
- That’s mine.
Joshua scowled. He could feel it. There was a strong yearning for the Death Knight in his heart.
It was similar to an instinct, and Joshua had no control over it. Joshua felt that he would definitely go insane if he didn’t take care of it as soon as possible.
Desire flooded his mind like a deluge…
Flash!
A burst of black magic that was awfully similar but more powerful than what the Death Knight had emitted just now exploded from between Joshua’s eyes.
"You’re mine," Joshua muttered in an eerie, distorted voice.
It was impossible to tell whether the voice belonged to Joshua or Lugia.
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