EP.241 The Night of Mages (3)
“Looks like I’ll have to go find it myself.”
Thud!
The Master of the Black Tower rose from his seat.
After giving a few instructions to a mage from the Black Tower who had rushed in, he let out a short sigh while draping his robe over his shoulders.
“That elf you mentioned, although a bit peculiar… I think he’s someone you can trust.”
An elf he had began interacting with recently. Yetual had gathered information on the elf who introduced himself as Cardi and had begun to piece together the elf’s identity.
An elf with no records anywhere. A being recorded only in the fairy tales of other elves.
Yetual speculated that this elf had lived through the age often referred to as ancient times. It was a leap in reasoning, but the incidents the elf spoke of seemed to be events from at least centuries ago.
Gulp!
“Especially since he’s acquainted with the Ashen Mage.”
There was no way to dismiss it as mere speculation.
“Anyone you know wouldn’t be ordinary, right?”
Yetual lightly brushed off the collar of his robe.
“There must be a reason he warned you.”
It didn’t feel like it was merely a heads-up. Of course, he couldn’t imagine that the god of mages would be up to something problematic…
“It wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.”
Though the plans already laid out had been shattered, it was necessary to take follow-up actions.
“…Even though I stressed it so much, I never imagined he’d overpower the guards and escape. Parenting really is a tough job.”
Haah!
With deep sighs, Yetual turned his steps toward the door. As he did, he glanced beside him. Standing next to him was Rania, now clad in a robe.
“…What are you doing?”
“Aren’t we going to find Chloe?”
“Right. But shouldn’t you be preparing for the Magic Academy Conference? It’s starting soon…”
Rania shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, we can’t start without the Mage of Ancient Dragons. So we should catch him and get him seated first.”
Snap!
Rania cracked her fingers.
“And…”
She playfully tapped at her eyes.
“I made a promise with the Mage of Ancient Dragons.”
“…Hmm.”
It seems things will get more complicated if you go.
Yetual struggled to swallow his words as they rose in his throat.
“What’s going on? I want to join too!”
“Just stay here.”
“You’re excluding me. White.”
“Nah, why is it only me…?”
The one who didn’t know what was going on, White, only pouted her lips.
—
2.
Chloe is a girl from the back alleys.
A dark and foggy back alley, devoid of light day and night. The girl who spent her childhood there understood the world through a few books.
Novels left behind by others.
Pamphlets occasionally mixed in with the trash.
In that bleak and dark back alley, the girl dreamed of the outside world as she read those things. The longing she had in her childhood still lingers even now.
That’s why, Chloe goes wild for festivals.
“Whoa…!”
The Night of Mages.
A festival of mages she had only read about in novels.
Chloe’s eyes sparkled as she turned her head this way and that. The atmosphere was completely different from the streets she usually saw. The streets were livelier than usual, and people dressed in somewhat exotic clothing frequently came into view.
Magic fireworks launched high into the sky.
Street vendors adorned with tower emblems selling their wares.
To Chloe, everything was simply fascinating.
“Belnoa, look at that…!”
Hanging on Belnoa’s arm, Chloe pointed at the street vendors. Belnoa sighed and pulled Chloe’s robe down to cover her better.
“Okay, I’ll listen to them one by one, but cover your face properly.”
“Sure, got it!”
Chloe beamed.
Belnoa chuckled, holding Chloe’s hand as they walked through the bustling streets of the festival.
Chloe had never acted like this before.
Having learned about life through various novels, several areas of Chloe’s mind were filled with flowers.
“Festival, Academy, Ball… and what else was there?”
In any case, related to romance novels.
Chloe had an overwhelming fantasy about those concepts frequently found in that genre.
“Thinking back, it’s kind of amazing.”
Belnoa glanced at Chloe, who was trailing behind her. She too came from the slums. A girl who wanted to see every unpleasant sight.
Death, places where corpses are discarded, and humans killing humans.
She must have seen it all, yet Chloe remained a blank canvas. Unlike Belnoa, she hadn’t become cynical or stoic. She was just as she was when they first met.
It wasn’t just Belnoa who felt this way.
Chloe blended effortlessly among the students of Apuria. No one imagined she was from the slums.
“Wow…!”
Watching her exclaim in admiration at the festival, she seemed like a naive young lady from a noble family.
“Perhaps her roots were just different.”
A person unshaken by any environment. Belnoa thought maybe those kinds of individuals are born with something special.
“Having fun?”
“Yup!”
Chloe smiled brightly.
Belnoa ruffled Chloe’s hair, continuing to walk. After all, seeing Chloe smile didn’t feel so bad.
“Just don’t let go of my hand and stick close. There are lots of people so if you get swept away…”
Just as she was about to finish her sentence.
The sensation of holding Chloe’s hand suddenly vanished. She was surely holding Chloe’s hand, but now, she grasped nothing but empty air.
“…Chloe?”
Belnoa turned around.
Chloe was nowhere to be found.
The bustling streets were still the same, yet Chloe, who should have been right there, was missing.
—
3.
“…Belnoa?”
Chloe blinked.
She had been holding hands, hadn’t she? She hadn’t let go, yet Belnoa was nowhere in sight.
And it wasn’t just Belnoa that was missing.
The crowd that once filled the street had vanished without a trace. The vendors, the mages chatting about magic as they strolled, the ordinary people enjoying the festival… all gone.
An empty street stretched out before her.
During the day, decorated for the festival.
Even though only the passersby had disappeared, the afternoon street felt eerily silent.
Gulp!
Chloe swallowed hard and took a step forward.
She wanted to escape the empty street.
Just as she stepped forward…
“Uh…?”
Chloe’s body froze.
She couldn’t move.
Not a single step could she take. Chloe nervously raised her head to look straight ahead. She suddenly sensed a presence in the midst of the deserted road.
Tap!
The sound of light footsteps echoed.
The sound was light, but the being behind it was anything but. The air felt suddenly heavy.
Tap!
Chloe’s eyes flickered.
Tap!
The rhythmic footsteps came to a halt.
Chloe looked towards the source of the sound.
“………”
There stood a man.
With long, bluish hair flowing down to his waist and golden eyes that split wide apart.
“Aah.”
He opened his mouth.
“I warned you, didn’t I?”
His cold voice resonated, devoid of emotion. Chloe flinched, trembling her shoulders. Yet, the man’s words were not directed at her.
“I clearly warned you not to use Gletus’s body.”
His gaze and words were all directed toward the sky.
“Gleria was the last line of my patience. I remember explaining it to you in great detail so you could understand.”
Despite the midday sun, a star floated at the end of his gaze.
“Now that it’s nailed to the sky, I can’t even recognize my guide. Doesn’t that sound ridiculous?”
His voice echoed chillingly.
In that moment, Chloe felt as if her heart had stopped. The starlight circulating within her body surged violently.
Tap!
The man took a step forward.
Despite the distance of more than ten steps between them, his light step seemed unconstrained by physical distance.
You.
The man standing before Chloe looked down at her.
He appeared to be a young man of about twenty, but Chloe sensed something within him encased in the guise of a human.
An unfathomably massive presence.
That presence posed a question towards her.
“What is your name?”
“U-uhh…”
Clack!
Chloe’s upper and lower teeth clashed together. With her strength giving out, Chloe slumped down right where she stood.
“I asked you what your name is.”
The man continued to look down at Chloe.
In his iris, glimmering platinum circles emerged. Three interconnected rings formed a curious pattern.
“If you threaten me like that, do you think I’ll answer?”
It was the moment the pattern was about to shine.
“Isn’t that right? Yormun.”
With someone stepping into the empty street, the elf with ash-colored hair appeared. Clad in shabby robes, he gently brushed his collar.
Whoosh!
Just by that, the shabby robe transformed into a platinum robe adorned with odd patterns. The elf, Cardi van Armiel, rolled his eyes slightly.
“Yormun van Dragonik.”
He echoed the man’s name.
The Mage of Ancient Dragons turned to look at Cardi.
“I don’t know what contract you made with the star, but I warned you as well.”
Cardi lightly loosened his wrists.
“If you approach Gleria, or my acquaintance, carelessly, you won’t fare well.”
“It’s not Gleria. It’s Gletus.”
“You little lizard, you’re really pushing it.”
Cardi scoffed.
“Oh, Star.”
The former Grand Magus pointed at the Mage of Ancient Dragons.
“The balance has tipped. Recognize the exception.”
An entity that must not move was about to act. This indicated that balance was about to be disrupted.
The star tried to maintain balance, hence it would recognize the current situation as an exception. To restore equilibrium, the star temporarily breaks the contract.
Tick, tick!
Flames flickered at the tips of Cardi’s outstretched fingers.
The mana that had been lost momentarily returned.
“The star has spoken. What will you do now, Yormun?”
Cardi moved his fingers.
Drawing a line in the air, dozens of spells began to shake.
“Willing to try?”
“Do you really think I can’t overpower you?”
“No, you could. Especially now that Ganikalt isn’t around.”
But, Cardi said.
“You too will have to pay a price. You’ll have to do the one thing you hate most.”
Yormun fell silent.
The brooding dragon eventually sighed and lightly waved his hand. Just by that, the oppressive air around them lightened.
The tipped balance quickly rectified itself. The mana that had been condensed at the tip of Cardi’s fingers vanished like vapor.
“That’ll do. I’m not up for a brawl with you. You should be the one to work for it…”
Yormun shook his head as if fed up.
He glared at the starlight swirling around him, speaking.
“You couldn’t resist and you latched on quickly. After thousands of years together, seeing you discard your friend like a flipped palm still irks me.”
“There must be someone who can see.”
“Stop getting on my nerves. I’m not feeling too great as it is.”
The irritable dragon turned away.
There, on the ground, sat Chloe.
“…I’m sorry. I hold no grudge against you personally. But that face is like a thorn in my side.”
Yormun chuckled bitterly.
“What is your name?”
“C-Chloe.”
“Very well. Chloe. I apologize. I will make it up to you for this issue…”
Just as Yormun was about to say that…
BOOM!
A thunderous sound shook the space.
A crack swiftly spread across the artificial space Yormun had created. Yormun’s eyes widened, and Cardi let out a short “Oh!” in admiration.
“I found you.”
Through the crumbling space, Raniel van Trias emerged. She gazed directly at Yormun, standing in the center of the space.
“What are you doing here instead of judging? You really are a nuisance…”
That sentence didn’t finish.
What entered Raniel’s gaze was Chloe, sitting in place… and the Mage of Ancient Dragons looming over her.
A girl who looked terrified to no end.
A Mage of Ancient Dragons who looked utterly suspicious.
The situation presented to her was clear. Thus, the actions Raniel must take were also clear.
Wham!
Raniel clenched her fist.
