C371 - The Reason They Visit Temar's Tomb (3)
In the dark forest, the Magicians revealed themselves.
This time, there were twenty of them, and Myla was among them.
"Look at this! Haha, I knew it. If it were my sister, she would have hidden the tomb seal somewhere else. But it's obvious! The only place in Wantaramo where she can hide the seal from my eyes is the Red Lake."
Myla stepped forward and spoke with a recently recovered voice.
She seemed out of breath, perhaps from rushing to get here.
The Magicians also had sweat-soaked faces.
"I was a little worried about the Specters, but luckily, it seems that only the Magic Tower Magicians has come. The Third Magic Tower must have come in a hurry, so there wouldn't have been time to bring the Specters as well."
The Specter Corps is Zipple's elite secret force and the direct subordinates of Octavia Zipple, so it's a force that the Third Magic Tower wouldn't dare to summon.
"But still, they must have reported that I'm in the Wantaramo forest, so eventually, the Specter Corps will come. They even sent five last time to catch me."
The plan was to kill them all before reinforcements arrived, check the Tomb, and then leave the forest.
"When I said we should ally with Zipple for the sake of our people, you ignored me, calling it nonsense! Runcandel? And with that weak kid who isn't even Cyron Runcandel? Absurd!"
Myla's body temporarily swelled as she shouted in anger.
It was a phenomenon that occurred when a descendant of the Fairy Tribe became emotional or displayed power.
"Is this the path for our people that my sister talked about? No wonder everyone turned their back on you. Where are you? Come out! Come out and say something at least!"
There was a moment of silence.
Myla's resolute breathing grew stronger.
Meanwhile, Jin and Valeria calculated Zipple's approximate power, and Vermont's Demon Men also remained cautious, watching them closely.
"Haha, I got excited for no reason. Anyway, listen well, sister. I'll give you one last warning as your sister. If you come out now and beg, I'll let you die without suffering. We share the same blood after all... Kyaaa!"
Suddenly, Myla screamed.
It was because her wings were grazed by Valeria's Mana bolt.
She had hidden the Magic in her hand since the Magicians appeared.
"My wings! My wings, ugh!"
Screaming, Myla shrank behind the Magicians.
The Magicians showed no particular reaction to Myla's injury.
"They can't even block this? Kill them all immediately! What are you doing, huh!?"
"Shut up. You dare step forward fearlessly and shout, to whom do you dare to blame and give orders?"
One of the Magicians said, looking disdainfully at Myla.
Myla fell silent at his icy attitude.
"Allow me to introduce myself, Jin Runcandel. I am Drew Malaga, the Vice Lord of the Third Magic Tower."
Malaga is one of the central Families of the Lutero Magical Federation.
Before taking charge of the Third Magic Tower, he had been the second in command of the White Night Magicians unit.
"Pleased to meet you, Luna-nim. I am Maul Hensirk, the second in command of the White Night."
"You? It seems the second in command changed without my knowledge."
"My predecessor Drew Malaga retired..."
"If it were Drew, he would have descended those stairs before greeting me."
Jin recalled the conversation Luna and Maul had during the Holy Kingdom Incident.
"I'm glad to see you, Drew Malaga. I heard you retired."
"Not too long ago, I returned as Vice Lord of the Third Magic Tower."
"It seems the Lutero Magical Federation is short on personnel."
"Haven't all the former Black Knights of Runcandel retired? But they're still on unofficial missions, aren't they? I have a similar situation."
"Compared to the former Black Knights, you seem to fall short. Is it overconfidence, or do you not know shame?"
"That was an inappropriate comment. If it has offended you, I apologize."
Drew was not a person who easily succumbed to provocations.
Having served as the second in command of the White Night and then being named Vice Lord of the Third Magic Tower again despite his retirement, there was a reason for his choice.
"Jin Runcandel."
Drew spoke as he stroked his beard.
"Tell me."
"I have a proposal."
"A proposal?"
"Just leave. Superiors are about to send reinforcements, and you can't handle them. I can't afford to lose my subordinates unnecessarily to stop you either."
"You think you can stop me by losing your subordinates. What do you think of my answer?"
"I can't help it. Just one more question, who is that Magician standing by your side? I heard she uses forgotten Magic..."
Drew knew Valeria was a Record Magician from what he had heard from Myla on the way here.
Ever since Myla used the Tower Master's Staff to summon them, they came without any prior information.
Drew didn't know from the start that there was a record magician here. But even if I kill all the magicians, it's likely that the information that I accompanied a record magician will reach Zipple.
Just as Jin had thought, Drew Malaga had already sent a letter to Zipple's main house informing them of the existence of a Record Magician as soon as he found out from Myla.
Myla's betrayal was an unexpected event, so it couldn't be helped.
The instant Jin was about to sigh, Aria unexpectedly stepped forward and spoke.
"You take care of the Demon Men, Jin Runcandel."
Are you going to face twenty of them alone?
Jin didn't bother asking such a question and just nodded.
If his Master said so, it meant she could handle it on her own.
"Be careful."
As Jin began to unsheathe his sword to confront the Demon Men, Valeria observed the magicians.
"Listen carefully, Zipple's hounds."
Valeria removed her hood, revealing her face.
Her mana-infused silver oak staff illuminated her face.
"I am a Magician who will one day erase Zipple's name from this world, a descendant of those trampled and disappeared at the hands of Zipple, a sister to the innocent Gray Owls who were killed by Zipple. My name is..."
Valeria Histor!
As she finished her words, Drew's pupils dilated.
And Jin could only feel considerable shock.
Had the Master just revealed her true name?
She hadn't even revealed her real name to Jin yet.
While battling the Demon Men, Jin kept a close eye on Valeria.
The reason Valeria had revealed her name was none other than her intent to kill each and every magician before her.
"There's no way they can leave here alive."
She was confident she could do it.
"...Watch out for the ground!"
The moment Valeria's staff moved, Drew suddenly shouted.
In the blink of an eye, without anyone noticing, chains of lightning had spread across the ground beneath them.
'She had cast the spell while revealing her true identity...!'
It was a shocking spell even for Jin.
Not even Jin, who was next to her, noticed that she was channeling mana.
It was unlikely that the magicians of the Third Magic Tower had noticed either.
"Kraaaah!"
"Argh!"
The magicians who hadn't managed to dodge the lightning chains screamed. Blood was already flowing from their mouths, noses, and ears, and those who barely protected themselves were left with a spine-chilling sensation running down their spines.
"Ugh..."
The magicians entangled in the lightning chains writhed, and the five of them soon soaked in blood, coughing up foam as they met their end.
In an instant, twenty percent of the Magic Tower's strength had been annihilated.
However, the misfortune of the magicians from the Third Magic Tower did not end there.
The lightning chains, even after killing five of them, continued to writhe like living entities, attaching themselves to the remaining magicians' protective shields.
These chains not only exerted pressure on the shields but also obstructed the magicians' line of sight, maximizing their sense of terror.
"I'll buy you some time! Stay calm and respond, or we'll be swept away by the mana backlash!"
Drew truly demonstrated the qualities of the second in command of White Night.
He continued to give excellent orders to prevent his startled subordinates from falling into the backlash.
However, Valeria hoped that Drew would be able to handle that level of situation.
Therefore, she intended to deal with them in a way that exceeded his expectations.
Kaga-gang!
Suddenly, a dimensional portal opened in the air, as if summoning a Phoenix.
Valeria had completed a summoning spell.
However, the portal didn't open near Valeria but 'above' the heads of the Magic Tower magicians.
Craaaash!
What emerged from it were hundreds of sharp icicles.
Like the overlapping teeth of sharks, these icicles shattered upon hitting the protective shields but immediately regrew and continued their assault.
The magicians whose protective shields had been broken died with gruesome wounds all over their bodies.
The fallen flesh and entrails had turned into charred remains that still emitted crackling sounds, consumed by the lightning chains.
The magicians from the Third Magic Tower had never expected to be attacked in this manner.
Despite having learned magic in Zipple and considering Zipple's library as a repository of all the Magic in the world, they were completely unprepared.
One thing was certain.
The Magic Valeria was unleashing was something they had never seen before.
In fact, the Magic she was using was a variety that had undergone numerous transformations, making it nearly impossible to trace back to its original form.
As a result, they were utterly defenseless in response.
Although they believed to know nearly all forms of Magic in the world, the strange and unfamiliar spells of Valeria made their fellow magicians burn and die impaled.
The spectacle was a true embodiment of terror.
Slash!
Amidst this confusion and panic, a faint sound of something being unsheathed could be heard.
It wasn't Bradamante.
It was the sound of Valeria's dagger being unsheathed from the sleeve of her robe.
Thud, thud...
Valeria began to approach the Magicians with deliberate, not particularly fast, steps.
Her eyes were tainted with bloodlust.
Until Valeria was within close range, the Magicians were too preoccupied with surviving the lightning chains and icicles to pay attention.
The chains lying on the ground formed a path following Valeria's steps.
The icicles sprouting from the portal above their heads also avoided the direction Valeria was walking.
From then on, it was a literal massacre.
Like a grim reaper, every time she moved her dagger among the Magicians, a life extinguished.
Thud, thud.
Valeria stabbed the Magicians in their throats and hearts with a cold and indifferent expression.
Slowly, she made her way towards Drew Malaga, who was shielding his subordinates with his shield.
Drew had already accepted defeat and death even before Valeria stood in front of him.
Since the initial surprise attack that had killed five of his subordinates.
Even as Valeria stood right in front of Drew, he had no energy to counterattack or move her aside.
Without stabbing Drew, Valeria locked eyes with him for a moment.
"Among the Magicians who massacred the Gray Owl Mercenaries, there was someone named Holden Malaga."
"Is he?"
"It seems they're from the same family."
Drew remained silent, avoiding Valeria's gaze.
"Are you also afraid that your own brothers will die?"
Slash!
As Valeria slashed Drew's throat, the lightning chains and icicles finally broke through the protective shield he had been barely holding against them, engulfing Drew's subordinates.
In the midst of the chaos of blood and screams, Valeria shot another mana bolt to cut off the wings of Myla, who was attempting to escape.
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