Lotheron, upon returning to the New Magic Tower, surveyed the state within.
Because of the sudden external assault, the tower’s atmosphere was in disarray.
After all, the proud defensive system of the New Magic Tower had been breached.
Even siege weapons could not have pierced it, yet a massive hole had been gouged cleanly through its center— as though carved out by some precise force.
The only consolation was that the tower’s core support structures remained intact.
If they hadn’t, the tower might have snapped in half from the middle.
‘The tower wouldn’t have fallen from something like that... but it would have been dangerously close. Still, that man didn’t intend to cause such destruction.’
His purpose had been to take the important object stored within the New Magic Tower, not to bring the tower down itself.
In other words, had he wished, he could have destroyed it completely.
And yet he hadn’t. That was why Lotheron chose to trust Ludger.
‘The New Magic Tower is currently divided into two factions. The Bourgeois faction— they’ve clearly joined hands with that man, Nicolai.’
They were the first to move as though waiting for this moment, and the ones who used unauthorized automatons and artifacts.
They had even tried to kill him and Cravat, dismissing them as obstacles.
‘The question is whether the entire faction sided with him, or just a few rogue elements.’
Still, Lotheron had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
Factional politics weren’t his taste— but he wasn’t stubborn enough to ignore an advantage when it presented itself.
As he entered his private workshop, one of his attendants— responsible for the research below— hurried to greet him.
“Lord Lotheron! You’ve returned!”
“Must be hard, managing things amid this chaos.”
“Haha, not at all, sir.”
“Call the others.”
Though he spoke casually, the attendant understood what he meant.
By “the others,” Lotheron meant the key figures of the Proletariat faction— those with influence and rank.
Normally, the aloof Lotheron, ever the dignified lone wolf, would never involve himself in such matters.
His change in behavior alone made it clear how serious the situation was.
The attendant bowed and quickly left the workshop.
Lotheron spent the meantime gazing out the window at the tower and the island beyond.
He couldn’t see the entire island, but he could make out the general outline of Isla Machina— a landscape of metal buildings, white steam rising from countless chimneys.
For a beastkin who had lived his life upon vast open plains, this was a suffocating sight.
And yet, Lotheron had once believed he had adapted to it.
‘I thought I’d grown used to it... but it seems I was wrong.’
The view looked the same as ever, but behind it all, unseen things were happening— more than anyone could grasp.
Lotheron felt a deep sense of alienation.
The world he thought he knew— it was not what he believed it to be.
The smiles of those he once called friends were nothing but masks.
He had always known people wore masks, but understanding it in theory and facing it in reality were very different things.
He reached up and touched his own iron mask.
The cold, rigid texture made him smile bitterly.
‘I’ve no right to judge anyone for wearing one.’
Just then, the door to the workshop rattled open.
Expecting the people he had summoned, Lotheron turned— and narrowed his eyes at an unexpected sight.
“Sixth-Circle Mage Lotheron.”
The inspectors who handled internal affairs of the New Magic Tower stood there, their gazes icy.
“You’ll have to come with us. You’re under suspicion of colluding with the external attackers who assaulted the tower.”
* * *
[And that Sixth-Circle mage you sent to the New Magic Tower— what did you hope he’d accomplish? Sorry, but I’ve already taken care of that.]
Nicolai had blocked every move Ludger could possibly make.
[You’re finished now.]
Ludger thought of Rine.
The little girl who had once tugged his hand, begging him to come play.
The student who had always worked diligently in her Seorn classes.
The young woman who’d been shattered by betrayal and fell into despair.
And finally— the one who had sunk into that uncertain sleep, perhaps never to wake.
Yet the memory that lingered most vividly was her bright smile in the sunlight.
“You...”
Ludger’s voice dropped lower— colder than ever before.
Cravat, watching beside him, involuntarily shuddered.
‘What...’
Ludger’s aura had changed.
He, who never betrayed emotion, now radiated something sharp and dreadful.
Even Nicolai, observing from afar through his test subjects, felt a chill crawl up his spine.
[Ha-ha... so even you can look human.]
Nicolai was frightened for an instant but quickly regained his mocking tone.
After all, Ludger was far away.
Even if Ludger tried to reach him, the test subjects would never allow it— and in that time, Nicolai could simply escape through one of the dozens of prepared routes.
The whole island was his palm.
‘And besides, would he even have the time to come after me? He’ll have to rush off to save that girl instead.’
That thought gave Nicolai the courage to mask his unease.
Still, a trace of anxiety clung to him— a faint, lingering dread, like dust that wouldn’t shake off.
A whisper of doubt that perhaps his intricate trap would collapse, and Ludger might win after all.
He didn’t deny the possibility.
And for that very reason, he intended to erase even that slim chance completely.
They said a lion goes all out, even when hunting a rabbit.
It was only a saying— but Nicolai found truth in it.
And his opponent was no rabbit, but a terrifying beast he could never afford to underestimate.
To hunt such prey, even multiple layers of traps would not suffice.
“...Nicolai. I told you, didn’t I? When this is over, I’ll come for you.”
Ludger’s tone was as calm as ever— composed, dignified, unwavering.
Yet beneath it, a quiet fury pulsed, colder and deadlier than before.
“I was going to wait until then. But not anymore. I didn’t think you’d cling to me this obsessively.”
[Oh? So the great John Doe bends his will at last?]
“But you shouldn’t have.”
Ludger’s gaze fixed on one of the test subjects transmitting Nicolai’s voice.
“If you wanted me dead so badly, you should’ve finished it cleanly. By leaving me alive to suffer, you’ve only tied your own noose.”
This was a fight to the death.
And in such battles, the one rule was simple— sever the enemy’s life without mercy.
The moment you assume victory and lower your guard— that’s when you die.
“Nicolai. You wouldn’t know this. You’ve never truly fought.”
All his life, Nicolai had triumphed through manipulation, pulling strings from the shadows.
He knew nothing of real combat— the kind where victory couldn’t be bought or delegated.
There were no rules here, no referees, no audience— only the ring where two enemies fought until one ceased to breathe.
“Since you don’t understand, I’ll teach you.”
Even if your foe’s body lies broken and bloodied— if they still draw breath, the fight isn’t over.
So long as life remains— even with shattered limbs, even with only teeth left to bite with—
If there are no teeth, then gums will do. If not gums, something else.
True struggle continues until absolutely nothing is left.
“Now... I’ll show you what a real fight looks like.”
[...What nonsense— another dramatic speech?]
Nicolai no longer even laughed.
He didn’t bother to hide his irritation at being lectured.
[From there, what can you possibly do? What can you do to me, John Doe?]
“You.”
Ludger vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right before the test subject transmitting Nicolai’s voice.
He had leapt clean over the entire encirclement. The subject didn’t even have time to react.
Crunch!
Ludger’s bare hand clamped around its jaw.
“I’ll kill you.”
Crack!
His mana-infused grip crushed the creature’s face to dust.
It flailed wildly, but Ludger’s sword-stick swung— severing its mechanical limbs in ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) an instant.
The subject tried to self-destruct, but Ludger infused mana into its body, neutralizing the bomb at its core.
He tossed the limp husk aside and raised his hand toward the incoming Blue Division.
A surge of energy flared from his fingertips— and countless lines of light erupted, impaling the test subjects like a hedgehog’s spines.
“Holy...”
Cravat, watching from a short distance, couldn’t stop himself from gasping.
What Ludger had shown so far had been nothing but a warm-up.
Now his true power flowed freely, without restraint.
Cravat realized then— Nicolai had committed an irreparable mistake.
Ludger advanced without pause.
Each time he moved, the Blue Division fell, unable to resist.
At that moment, Phyron finished his battle with the artificial magical beasts and joined them.
“What’s this? Already over?”
Hiss—
Steam rose from his body as he approached, bare-chested— or rather, his upper garments had burned away entirely in the heat of combat.
At least his pants had survived.
“Yeah. It’s over. He took care of everything.”
“Hmph. As expected. But the professor doesn’t look pleased.”
Even from a glance, Phyron could sense Ludger’s fury.
Cravat quickly explained why.
“What?! Then the girl and that weakling are in danger right now!”
Phyron reacted as if the world were ending.
Gariel might have been a time mage, but to Phyron, he was still a frail weakling—
A man whose only defense in frozen time was to run.
So fragile that he’d once collapsed from mere poison.
“Then we must hurry to help— huh?”
Halfway through his words, Phyron noticed that Ludger was gone.
“He was just here! Where did he—?”
“What are you spacing out for? We’re going too.”
Cravat grabbed him, and together they followed the path Ludger had taken.
Ludger arrived first.
At a hidden base he had prepared in case of emergencies—
A place that, under normal circumstances, no one should have been able to find.
Now it was a wreck.
Claw marks, destruction— the aftermath of a fierce battle.
Corpses of mages and test subjects lay scattered across the floor.
Ludger stepped past them until he reached the innermost chamber.
There, his eyes fixed on a man sitting collapsed beside a sleeping girl.
“Gariel Cosmo.”
Rine lay there, peacefully asleep.
Her body was unscathed.
Judging by the devastation, she should have been caught in the crossfire a hundred times over— yet something had protected her desperately.
Covered in dust and shallow cuts, Gariel looked up at Ludger, gasping.
“Took you long enough. I thought I’d die of old age waiting.”
Ludger assessed his condition.
No critical injuries— but faint traces of aging marked his face.
“You used time.”
“About six months’ worth. The automaton bought us time.”
Following his gaze, Ludger spotted the half-destroyed automaton nearby.
“I can repair that.”
“Yeah. Probably.”
Gariel let out a weary laugh.
He had protected Rine, yet his expression was grim.
Ludger caught it instantly.
“Tell me. What happened?”
“I kept Rine safe... but all the materials I gathered are gone.”
Gariel lifted his hollow eyes toward Ludger.
“The materials to cure Rine— they’re gone.”