I practically flew to get here, using teleportation and other means. The Purple Tower stood at the foot of a mountain, in a secluded area a bit away from the city, a place inconvenient yet not too difficult to reach.
“...This is the Purple Tower, my master’s homeland.”
The kid looked emotional in many ways.
“Strictly speaking, this isn’t quite the same tower your master knew. The exterior has changed a lot.”
For one, half of the faction was blown away by Yuna’s actions, which worsened the already precarious financial situation of the tower. There was a time when we had to save on food due to the lack of research funds.
Naturally, the maintenance budget for the building plummeted, and when I first joined, algae stains were clearly visible on the outer walls.
But after a genius wizard descended like a dancer from the sky and entered the Purple Tower, the place underwent a massive transformation.
With the flood of incoming funds, we redecorated, installed safety devices, and remodeled the exterior since aesthetics were ultimately the most valuable content.
The current appearance of the Purple Tower, after all its destruction and restoration...
“What’s that thing attached over there?”
“A hypnotic wave generator for intercepting intruders.”
“And those antennae?”
“They’re cranes for moving supplies, with a skin slapped on them.”
It looked a bit... alien. I couldn’t help but think this is what it would look like if extraterrestrials built a tower.
“Your master’s tower probably had a traditional look... Now, if you’re ready, let’s begin.”
I took out the scroll for tracking Goat’s location.
The Hypnotic Detective had two of these scrolls, but we used one to confirm my identity back at the academy, so this was the last one. We only had one chance.
As I prepared to activate it, the kid seemed more anxious than I was, visibly shaking at the lack of a spare scroll.
Unable to contain his unease, he started giving me unsolicited advice.
“Don’t be careless. I know... you’re an incredible wizard, but Goat is terrifying enough to have harmed my master.”
“Hey, what do you think carelessness is?”
“Well, uh, it’s... having a lax mindset...”
“Carelessness is not being fully prepared, not being able to use 100% of your abilities. It’s forgetting something important or missing something obvious, then losing a fight you could have won.”
In that sense, I wasn’t careless.
What’s Goat’s specialization? I don’t know. I don’t even know if he has transformed. But I do know that his primary skill is illusion magic.
Even after carefully reading the Hypnotic Detective’s guide, there weren’t many details about his abilities. When he attacked, he led a group of dark mages and freely wielded a variety of illusion spells.
The only clue I had was that I could remember and pronounce his name.
If, as Aisha suspected, he was a servant of “It,” he might have access to the Evil God’s toolkit, just as the succubus queen had.
That’s the extent of my information.
So, based on this, what should I prepare and how should I proceed?
“What would you do? What should I prepare?”
“Well, um, he’s an illusionist after all. So, something that counters illusion magic...”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m prepared.”
With myself.
“You called me an ‘incredible wizard,’ but if you knew more about me, you’d use a slightly different term.”
Rip—!
Without hesitation, I tore the scroll. Magic and information intertwined as the light radiated from it, floating gently into the tower to point out the target.
The kid, startled, shouted.
“The tracking time is only ten seconds! We have to hurry...!”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Huh?”
“I extended it to thirty minutes.”
“...How?”
With skill.
I calmly walked into the Purple Tower, following the light trail with my hands in my pockets.
Although it looked like I was taking my time, this was actually... bait. I was dangling the hook.
If he was as cunning and powerful as they said, he must have done something to the tower—set traps or something.
Rather than rushing in and getting blindsided, I planned to advance slowly, methodically, like a steamroller crushing everything in my path.
Wouldn’t that give him time to escape, though?
No. From this moment onward, no one inside the Purple Tower could leave. To prepare for the day Irid might drag an army to confront me, I had installed a device to seal the tower.
Standing in the lobby on the first floor, I chanted.
“A thousand doors, a thousand steps, nowhere to turn your eyes or rest your mind, a labyrinth.”
Hadn’t I mentioned that I remodeled the tower’s exterior? That included the interior, which I redesigned with my touch.
The reagents and magic circles I’d planted throughout the Purple Tower responded to my incantation.
The Mona Lisa in the picture frame opened its mouth, repeating my chant. The candle flames spiraled, accelerating the spell. A carpet sprang up, grabbing chalk to add extra formulae.
Beams shot from the eyes and mouth of a plaster bust, projecting magic circles onto the opposite wall. A sofa swallowed a wizard who had been sitting on it, converting him into a mana battery.
The surreal phenomenon of the tower coming to life simultaneously took place, and the Purple Tower’s juniors and seniors in the lobby screamed.
“The Mad Wizard is back! And he’s up to something as soon as he returns!”
“Hey!! Can’t he just sit still for a day?!”
“He’s alone—without the Tower Lord. This is 100% a lover’s quarrel, and now he’s taking it out on us!”
Their enthusiastic cheers and shouts encouraged me, letting me complete the final chant smoothly.
“An endless spiral that consumes itself within, 『Ascension of Sealed Doors』.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble──!!
The entire Purple Tower trembled as it transformed. Doors twisted or vanished, systematically cutting off the concept of leaving.
Until this illusion was broken, they wouldn’t be able to leave the tower, not even their own rooms. There wouldn’t be a door in sight, nor would the thought of exiting even occur to them.
That was how I blocked any magical or psychological escape.
And if anyone tried to break out with brute force? I left that to Aisha, stationed outside the tower.
...
“A thousand histories, a thousand beings, no matter how deep you dig, all you’ll find is a single scale. 『Dragon Scale Ascension: Sealed Door』.”
Swish──!!
The walls of the Purple Tower sprouted dense black scales. Using an arranged spell, Aisha had physically sealed the entire tower, sitting cross-legged against the entrance.
She showed no sign of tension or worry.
The truth is, the Mad Wizard is an utterly ruthless person. He might seem like he’s just laughing and joking, but he’s willing to risk his life for his goals. And with that determination, he even managed to seal ‘It.’
Now that he’s declared complete revenge, I don’t believe for a second that he’ll be defeated by some mere servant of an Evil God. He will win.
So if anyone is to suffer defeat, it won’t be the Mad Wizard...
===============================================================
Step by step.
“Hm-hmm, hmm-hmm.”
The Mad Wizard hummed a tune as he climbed the stairs. The light trail floated ahead, maintaining a distance of about a meter. They were already past the tenth floor.
The top of the Purple Tower was on the twentieth floor, meaning they had already excluded half of the tower as a hiding place.
The kid following behind suddenly realized that even the humming was magic. Although the exact effect was unclear, it seemed to act as a barrier against external harmful influences.
Looking back at the Mad Wizard in surprise, the kid noticed faint traces of mana even in his steps, the sound of his shoes clicking, and the movement of his eyes.
He was casting spells with every mundane action. Walking was like drawing an intricate painting. How was that even possible?
Having sensed the light trail tracking him, Goat, presumably hiding somewhere in the tower, began to take action.
Thud—!
Creak, creak, hee-hee-hee-hee-!
The lights in the Purple Tower went out. No, it was more than that.
It looked as if darkness itself filled the space. The floating light trail was swallowed up by the pitch-black darkness, vanishing from sight.
And from that blackness, evil grinning dwarves began to crawl out, their numbers quickly multiplying until they filled the corridor.
It was summoning magic once practiced by the Summoning School, eradicated by Yuna Yurensto Violetiris.
The sound of sharp teeth clattering echoed. Going through that corridor would strip flesh from bone in seconds.
“So that’s how it is? This feels familiar, like a nightmare.”
“There... there should be a lighting magic circle! I learned that summoning magic is tied to the medium it’s based on... since these creatures came from shadows, they should be weak to light! So if we trigger it—!”
“No need. They’re on our side now. Let’s get along, hmm?”
“Huh?”
Hee-hee-hee-hee—
The dark dwarves began rubbing their heads affectionately at the Mad Wizard’s feet. Moments ago, they had been murderous.
The Mad Wizard coaxed them kindly.
“Now, go back to the one who summoned you. Tell them I’ve arrived.”
Cackling—
The dwarves, now completely brainwashed, scrambled up the stairs to attack their summoner. Soon, the tower’s lights came back on.
The light trail continued to float slowly.
“...How did you do that?”
“Well, a dark space is quite ideal for hypnosis. A single flicker of light in the darkness naturally draws attention.”
“I mean, I didn’t even notice the spell being cast...”
“Seventeenth floor. Central control room of the tower? I linked some summoned creatures with a mana string, and it cut off around there. Goat must be around that area. Kid, cover your ears.”
Tap, tap.
The tempo of his steps changed. The sound reverberated as if echoing through an underground chamber, amplifying as it overlapped and bounced.
It was a mental attack using sound amplification.
The Hypnotic Detective quickly covered his ears. Although most of the sound waves shot forward, dispersing upward in the tower, only the residual echoes remained behind the Mad Wizard.
But even those faint remnants made the kid’s head spin. He quickly took out several artifacts from his pocket to protect himself.
Fifteenth floor.
“Ah, the welcoming party?”
“...”
Perhaps under mind control, several Purple Tower members blocked the Mad Wizard’s path. Parts of the tower’s defense system had been hacked, with various magic circles and intercepting artifacts aimed at him.
The Mad Wizard’s form shifted once more.
Shimmer, shimmer.
His entire body seemed to unravel into fibers or flames, becoming a formless entity. Anyone familiar with Selvia’s transformations would find it similar.
Those attuned to emotional flows could see invisible chains stretching from the Mad Wizard, binding or directing the emotions of everyone present.
The kid detective couldn’t even begin to grasp this territory.
Screech. Creak. Creak. His sound.
Wavering in an eerie repetition of sharpness and softness. His sight.
Noticing the scent that had subtly filled the entire floor. His smell.
The taste of bitterness. The tickling of skin. His taste and touch.
Everything. All within the Mad Wizard’s ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) grasp, moving in concert like an orchestra to create illusion magic.
He seemed to independently control every toxic effect that could fall under the category of ‘illusion.’ His voice echoed chillingly.
“If you’re watching through the eyes of our juniors, your eyeballs must be itching by now. If you’re listening through a hacked surveillance system, ants should be crawling out of your ears. I’ve used everything I’ve learned, so let’s see how you like it.”
“...”
“All I wanted was to play with the people I love in this little tower. That’s all. I only started researching magic for battle because unpleasant people kept picking fights with me.”
At some point, he had to fight, so he did. The wizard, a genius from birth, honed countless claws from his past experiences.
And now...
“I might finally be able to give a name to all of this... thanks, bastards. It’s all because of you, including ‘It.’”
“────!!”
The people blocking the Mad Wizard collapsed, one by one, as if their strings had been cut. And among them—
Swish—!
One of the Purple Tower wizards, an assassin hidden among them, suddenly revealed himself. His eyes and mouth were sewn shut in a grotesque appearance—a surgical measure to avoid being caught in illusions.
He must have been planted as a trump card, waiting for the day the Mad Wizard would return to the tower, taking advantage of the weakened control while he and the Tower Lord were at the academy.
The weakness of wizards: close combat.
Prepared as Goat’s trump card for the Mad Wizard...
“『Combat Assistance: Heavenly Demon』.”
Changing his species from human to data lifeform, he had physical specs enhanced to the point he could rip thick parchment scrolls with raw strength, provided there was enough mana.
A flawless martial art based on this.
Swoosh—!
In an instant, the assassin’s limbs were twisted and broken as he was thrown to the ground. Without hesitation, the Mad Wizard took another step.
Crack.
“Well, I can fight in close quarters. Though I’m stronger when spamming spells from a distance. Kid, let’s go. I think we’ve crushed all the tricks he set up.”
“Y-Yeah... I mean, yes, sir!”
The Mad Wizard ascended the last stair without hesitation.
===============================================================
Seventeenth floor, in front of the Purple Tower’s central control room.
The light trail vanished right before the entrance, disappearing sooner than expected. Had Goat set up a hindrance to block it?
But it was already too late. Now, the Mad Wizard stood before a thin door, with Goat undoubtedly behind it. He kicked the door open and entered.
Bang—!
“Freeze, Goat! Surrender, and I’ll make your death less painful—Wait, why the hell are there so many people here?”
...There were four people in the room.
“Creator of the Shorts-Wearing Shota! We’ve been waiting for your return!”
First, Luche, a sixth-year wizard who inherited the Mad Wizard’s hologram spell.
“Isn’t this my junior! It’s been ages; great to see you!”
Second, Charlie, the senior-most wizard with fifteen years of service.
“T-The door disappeared! Don’t tell me you... again...”
Third, Melburton, Yuna’s stress-relieving punching bag and a third-year wizard.
And...
“Junior, I received a signal that someone accessed the Purple Tower’s security system, so I rushed up here... Am I screwed?”
Fourth, Lorei, the ten-year wizard known as “Scarface Senior.”
“...”
The room was sealed. Four suspects, but only one culprit.
A deduction game to find the traitor of the tower was about to begin.