A wizened old man in appearance, the other boasting a head of crop-cut silver hair—
It was Mayer and Sovoc.
After pondering for a moment, Colin hastened his pace and caught up with the two.
After the battle had ended, and even before returning to his room, he had been assigned to repair the airship and had never seen Mayer or Sovoc...
And he had no idea what their situation had been like, always hidden in the lowest layers.
"Lord Mayer, Lord Sovoc."
After approaching, Colin took the initiative to greet them.
Mayer and Sovoc turned their heads, their faces showing some surprise.
Upon seeing them clearly, Colin also paused slightly.
Sovoc's complexion was pale, a fierce wound stretching from his chin down to his collarbone, and although a translucent pale green gel covered it, one could still see the fresh red flesh and stark white bone beneath.
Mayer was not much better off; though he had no visible wounds, his complexion was tired, and combined with his already aged face, he appeared to be at death's door!
"Lord Colin... I didn't expect you to be completely unharmed."
Sovoc, ever blunt, looked at Colin and was the first to speak, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.
"I envy your luck," sighed Sovoc, "...If only we'd known not to listen to those who told us to go to the lowest layer when the second layer we were on was actually the safest!"
Colin's expression remained calm, and he did not rebut, for in the eyes of others, he had only just advanced to become an Official Wizard.
He was about to ask about the situation in the lowest layer when Mayer, who seemed to have thought of something, preempted him, asking:
"Lord Colin, where is Miss Milo? Have you seen her?"
"I have not seen her at all," Colin replied, his tone steady as he shook his head.
"I have not seen her at all..."
Mayer murmured and sighed, falling silent.
Sovoc, as if thinking of something as well, also shut his mouth.
"The second layer was actually the safest...
Lord Mayer, what exactly happened in the lowest layer?"
Colin spoke, breaking the silence.
"In the secret chamber, the Wizards of the Goodell School betrayed us, trying to let those monsters in. Caught off guard, they nearly succeeded, but in the end, we prevailed."
Mayer looked up at him, briefly summarizing what had happened, then added:
"Only, many Wizards died, including several from the Nine Major Schools... Remember Witch Morton of the Silver An Covenant from that exchange meeting? She was one of them..."
Colin felt a slight shock in his heart; this was far more serious than he had imagined...
"Those lowlives of the Goodell School have betrayed the principles of witchcraft."
Sovoc angrily spat, his wounds a masterpiece of a Goodell Wizard.
"Why be angry, the Goodell School probably has already become history," said Mayer, trying to calm Sovoc down, "Let's see what Lord Grant has called us here for..."
Colin looked forward and before he realised it, they had arrived at the central hall of the assembly.
Countless golden chandeliers hung, providing ample light, and the white light from the Bright Crystals flooded down, lighting up the crowded Wizards.
The original tables and chairs in the hall had been removed to accommodate the arriving Wizards.
At the front of the Wizards, Grant had already appeared.
He sat in the main seat, his gaze steady, his complexion good, with no signs of injury visible.
"Let's go over there, the view is good from that spot," Sovoc suggested.
This assembly had no specific standing arrangements, and they did not need to stand with members of their own School; they could stand anywhere.
"Agreed," Mayer nodded.
Colin naturally had no objections and followed along.
"Everyone is here, so I will begin."
As soon as they had just arrived at the chosen spot, Grant spoke in a deep and resonant voice.
As his words ended, a semi-transparent barrier suddenly enveloped the hall.
"What is this?!"
"What's going on?"
The Wizards in the hall began whispering to each other, exchanging looks and murmurs.
Colin's expression changed subtly.
Grant's actions reminded him of an unforgettable memory...
But Grant in front, showed no intention of explaining, merely waving the scepter in his hand.
A clear and translucent ripple rapidly spread outwards from the tip of his scepter.
Colin inadvertently thought of the unknown witchcraft used by the Nois City Lord… It also looked like a translucent ripple.
Just then,
a commotion suddenly arose from among the group of Wizards to his left.
Colin turned his head to look.
On the head of a rather ordinary-looking Wizard, a striking red orb of light suddenly appeared.
The orb, roughly the size of a fist, resembled a cluster of gathering mist, emitting light from within.
Grinlant, standing up front, fixed his gaze on the scene but made no move.
The next moment, several similar red orbs of light began to appear elsewhere among the crowd.
The Wizards who were thus marked finally realized what was happening.
"Praise my Lord!"
One of the believers, his expression fluctuating, shouted aloud and lunged toward the Wizard closest to him, intending to drag them both to their doom.
Swish!
But Grinlant, having chosen to take this action, was of course thoroughly prepared.
He and several Wizards beside him simultaneously took action.
Those marked Wizards were at once firmly restrained and then drawn to the front.
Grinlant did not look at the Wizards who were pulled forward but rather scanned the Wizards below the stage.
Once he sensed the noise within the hall dwindling and peace returning, he slowly pointed at the several restrained Wizards and began to speak:
"You might have guessed it by now, they are all filthy Divine Believers...
Wizards just identified by witchcraft as Divine Believers!"
Grinlant's tone picked up, revealing a slight smile:
"Yes, Lord Nois and several Councilmen from the Supreme Council have, after this battle, seen through these believers' disguises, and have developed a special detection witchcraft—Deep Red Marking Technique!"
Colin's heart skipped a beat, followed by elation.
He had underestimated the power on the Wizards' side...
"The purpose of summoning you here is simple, to teach this form of witchcraft," continued Grinlant.
'Teaching witchcraft…' Colin furrowed his brow.
Could this be somewhat unwise?
Such witchcraft, if mastered by every Wizard, would indeed be brilliant, truly leaving no place for Divine Believers to hide.
But in his view, if it were possible, it would obviously be best for only a small number of truly reliable Wizards to have this knowledge.
The fewer who know it, the less likely it will leak, thereby preventing the Divine side from developing countermeasures.
However, since Grinlant was proceeding in this way, it was clearly a command from the Supreme Council.
Perhaps there was deeper meaning he was unaware of.
Hmm, or maybe it was just simple confidence in the effectiveness of the witchcraft, not worrying about it being deciphered by the Divine side...
"Huff—"
Mayer at his side let out a long sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face.
He glanced at Colin and Sovoc, who looked on curiously, and said with a chuckle:
"Don't laugh, but an old man like me has always been worried about this traitor issue. After all, if we could only find traitors by such means each time, it's really not a lasting solution."
His tone seemed less courteous and more sincere than usual.
"Wizards will prevail, just as they have for thousands of years!" Sovoc added from the side, his voice brimming with confidence.
Colin remained silent.
After arriving in Neustadt City, aside from his training, he often immersed himself in the ancient library, catching up on much of the world's history and cultural knowledge.
This world was vast; apart from the Siya Continent, there were several others.
The exact time when Wizards and Divines began to be at odds is lost to history... but one thing is clear: over 3,500 years ago, there was a monumental war between the Wizards and Divines of this world.
The end result was a pyrrhic victory for the Wizards, the Divines defeated.
Whether the influence of that war played a part or not, in the subsequent centuries, Giants Dragons, Elves, Beastmen… these once comrades-in-arms of the Wizards gradually disappeared from the world.
During this period, there were occasional resurgences or descent of Divines, but these were sporadic events or of a very small scale.
Until the past five years, records from the Supreme Council show a sudden increase in Divine descents.
In the past two years, in the Southern Sea Domain, signs of a Divine resurgence began to gradually emerge...
With a resigned sigh, Colin pondered… this too was a form of being born at the wrong time.
He clenched his fist gently, refocusing his thoughts, carefully listening to Grinlant's instructional demonstration ahead.