Seorn, the greatest magic academy of the Empire.
It was a place where only magicians and authorized staff were allowed entry—
but now, people dressed in unfamiliar pure-white robes had begun to come and go.
They were the delegation from the Theocracy of Bretus.
Priests walked around campus, offering psychological counseling to students and comforting their hearts.
That was all they did—yet even that was enough to lighten the heavy atmosphere that had settled over Seorn.
While strolling through the courtyard, Aidan stopped when he heard a sound from nearby.
Curious about what it was, he turned his head and saw a group of students praying outdoors.
Prayers, here at Seorn?
Under normal circumstances, such a sight would have been unimaginable. But not now.
Since the recent sleep-plague incident, more and more students had begun to pray like that.
It wasn’t something that had only started yesterday or today either.
Maybe that number will only keep increasing from now on.
As Aidan was thinking that, someone tapped his shoulder.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah, Leo.”
“What are you staring at like that? Hm? What’s that—those guys are nobles, aren’t they?”
Leo narrowed his eyes at the praying noble students.
The curl of his lips held nothing but mockery toward them.
“They always acted so high and mighty, but in the end they’re clinging to their god.”
“Leo, do you dislike the Lumenis Church?”
“Of course I do. I’ve hated it from the start. Praying to a god doesn’t change anything.”
Leo’s voice carried a deep, lingering bitterness—
the kind only someone who had once prayed desperately and failed could possess.
Aidan knew what Leo had gone through,
how deep his suffering had been,
and because of that, he couldn’t easily offer comfort.
Leo must have prayed with all his heart.
But no matter how many times he prayed, nothing changed.
In the end, it hadn’t been a god who saved Leo,
but the teacher who had guided him.
“Still, that’s surprising. I didn’t think you’d be interested in things like that, Aidan.”
At Leo’s remark, Aidan scratched his cheek with his index finger.
“Ha-ha, is that so?”
“You’re an upright guy. You still are. Everyone else is anxious these days, but you don’t even look nervous. Makes me think your nerves are made of steel.”
“It’s not like that. I just thought it was curious, that’s all. I can understand why they’re praying.”
“You can?”
“I don’t have any particular grudge against the Lumenis Church. Actually, I got scolded by Professor Ludger once because of that.”
“That happened?”
Aidan scratched his head, embarrassed, as he explained.
“I once went to the staff room to ask him something. Theology came up by chance.”
“If you got scolded for it, then Professor Ludger must think like I do.”
“Yeah. He really doesn’t like religion. Actually, he seemed to hate it.”
“Well, that figures.”
Leo nodded. He could picture Ludger perfectly—
that solitary man standing tall and aloof,
leaning desperately on some unseen faith? It was impossible to imagine.
“The professor said this: relying on something else is nothing more than turning your eyes away from reality. Nothing changes that way.”
Even though Leo hadn’t heard it himself,
he could almost hear Ludger’s voice clearly in his head.
If it were truly Ludger, he would have said exactly that.
And Leo agreed wholeheartedly.
“I think he’s right about that. But I couldn’t agree that religion was unnecessary. So I argued back.”
“What? You argued with him?”
Leo’s jaw dropped.
Even with Aidan’s bull-like stubbornness,
he never expected him to say he’d actually argued with Ludger.
“I didn’t argue the way you’re thinking. I just said religion has good sides too.”
“And Professor Ludger let that slide?”
“He first asked me why I thought that.”
Leo had half-expected the professor to throw a book at him—
but asking for his reasoning instead? That was exactly like Ludger, too.
“So what did you tell him?”
“I said that religion can help people.”
“Help them?”
“Yeah. My mother’s a follower of the Lumenis Church.”
That was something Leo had never heard before.
“It was when I was really young. You know I have younger siblings, right?”
“Sure. You’re the oldest.”
“Yeah. Back then, my mother was about to give birth. It was a cold winter day, a blizzard raging outside. That’s when her labor pains started.”
Aidan came from the countryside.
Proper medical care wasn’t available there, and the weather was at its worst.
“Thanks to the neighbors’ help, she managed to begin giving birth, but it was dangerous—for both her and the baby.”
“Good god...”
“And I was just a clueless kid. There was nothing I could do. One of the neighbor ladies said it all depended on Mother’s will, but she was already exhausted—she hadn’t eaten or slept properly for days.”
Aidan could still remember that day clearly.
Even as a child, he’d sensed how grave the situation was.
Could a frail village woman really survive such an ordeal in those brutal conditions?
“At that time, Mother prayed.”
“She prayed?”
“Yeah. She prayed desperately to God. Said she didn’t care if she died, as long as the child was born safely.”
Her prayers had lasted all night long—
even as she gave birth, she continued to pray.
Did those prayers reach the heavens?
“The baby was born healthy, and Mother survived as well. The blizzard that had been raging stopped the next morning, and sunlight filled the sky.”
No one knew whether it was divine grace or simply fate.
But Aidan understood one thing—
even if no miracle had descended, the sincerity of her heart as she prayed had been real.
“Because she had her prayer and her faith, my mother endured that hardship.”
“......”
“So when I see people praying like that, it doesn’t bother me. Professor Ludger’s words are right too, but acting that way isn’t meaningless. It gives people courage to stand up again.”
That was why Aidan didn’t think religion was inherently bad.
Taken too far, it was dangerous—
but a world without any faith at all would be terrifying in its own way.
“So what did Professor Ludger say after that?”
“He didn’t say much. Just told me to leave.”
“Really? That’s unexpected. I thought he’d have a whole lecture ready.”
“He seemed to agree, actually. He didn’t say so aloud, but... I think he holds a deep hatred toward the Lumenis Church.”
“Hatred, huh. Maybe something happened with them in the past?”
“Yeah, maybe. But now we can’t even ask him about it—he vanished all of a sudden.”
That was when a third voice cut in between the two of them.
“Mind if I listen to that story too?”
When they turned, a woman in a white robe stood there, smiling brightly.
A white tiara covered her eyes.
* * *
“There he is!”
War Mages using flight magic fired spells at Ludger.
Arrows, spears, and bullets imbued with every elemental property streaked toward his vital points.
Flying while casting—
they weren’t just drawing formulas while running,
they were performing acrobatics mid-air. It was proof of their veteran skill.
Ludger wrapped himself in a shadow cloak like a phantom thief.
The incoming spells struck the cloak and were deflected in distorted directions.
Meanwhile, the War Mages landed on rooftops, alley railings, and surrounding buildings, moving to encircle him.
Just as Ludger tried to break out of the trap, a test subject swung a massive metal weapon at him.
Clang!
A blue flash sliced through the air above his head.
It wasn’t an ordinary iron blade—
it was a Magic Killer, a weapon designed to nullify magic.
They had come fully prepared. Yet even as Ludger noted that,
he sensed something strange about the whole situation.
The test subjects from Nicolai and the New Mage Tower’s War Mages aren’t fighting each other.
Instead, the Tower’s mages were carefully avoiding the test subjects and targeting only Ludger.
That told him one thing.
They’ve already joined hands.
No wonder their response had been so fast after the ambush—Nicolai must have tipped them off.
The New Mage Tower was a massive organization; naturally, it had internal factions.
Some members upheld their pride as mages,
but others, like these, colluded with the underworld for profit.
Just like Pompute—these men were the same breed.
They were clearly from his faction.
“Don’t move! You’re surrounded! Surrender peacefully!”
“You were ambushed, yet instead of executing me on the spot you’re telling me to surrender? I’m touched by such mercy.”
Ludger snorted at the War Mage’s warning.
They weren’t sparing him out of kindness—
they wanted him alive, to deliver to someone.
“What kind of deal did you make with Nicolai? He pay you off?”
Of course. To protect their own interests,
they’d not only allowed the Black Mages and Nicolai’s group to fight freely,
but even maintained a forced balance between them from the shadows.
Money was the only reason.
Given that, it was hard to call the Black Mages the only villains here.
These men traded in lives like currency,
no different from the very scum they condemned.
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?”
“Ha. You’ve still got a mouth on you for someone cornered.”
A mustached War Mage grinned coldly at him.
“So what? We just do it for the money.”
“Even mercenaries have more honor than you.”
“Seems you’ve forgotten your situation. Your life’s in our hands. You should be begging instead of acting proud.”
The War Mages laughed crudely.
“Or are you waiting for help from your companions? Foolish hope. Did you think we didn’t know about that Black Mage working with you?”
They even knew about Cravat’s presence—
and had already sent pursuers after him.
“That so-called master of the Ancient Curse School—let’s see how long he lasts against War Mages.”
“......”
“So you’re just stalling to buy him time, huh? Pointless effort. How do you feel now?”
“Heh.”
Ludger couldn’t help but laugh.
The smug War Mage’s face twisted in irritation.
“...Laughing? Do you not grasp the situation you’re in?”
“Actually, that’s what I should be asking you. You mean to tell me you sent only War Mages after him? How disappointing.”
His tone was utterly sincere, which made the mage’s face contort again before he forced a smirk.
“Idiot. You think we’d handle this carelessly? We’ve taken every precaution. We sent proper men for the job.”
“Proper men, huh...”
“Curses and poison—Black Mages who deal with both are disgusting to fight. So we made sure he wouldn’t get a chance to use them. We sent enough troops to crush him in one blow. Prototype Automatons, Artifacts—the works. Think that’s not enough?”
Ludger gave him a cold smile.
“Yeah, not enough. Far from it. Those troops are for dealing with a Black Mage, aren’t they?”
“What?”
“Just like you have your trump cards, we have ours.”
A faint grin curved beneath the shadow mask.
“By now... yes, they should be arriving. Our local helper.”
* * *
Cravat stood silently in the alleyway, surrounded by War Mages.
Remaining still in such a situation was as good as surrendering—
as if inviting them to kill him.
He knew that perfectly well.
And yet he didn’t move, because a man had suddenly appeared before him.
“Since when did the New Mage Tower start joining hands with shady, nameless scum like you?”
The metallic clatter of his armor echoed as his voice boomed from behind an iron mask.
The Tower mages surrounding Cravat froze in place.
“Y-You... why are you here?”
A 6th-Circle mage of the New Mage Tower—
the Iron Mask, Roteron.
His eyes gleamed sharply from within the pitch-black mask.
“I can’t just let this matter slide. I trust you’re all prepared for the consequences.”