novelraw Chapter 61 : Chapter 61
Chapter 61 : Chapter 61
Chapter 61: Fire (1)
'Water?'
It wasn't simple water.
It stung upon contact. It looked like water, but each droplet felt sharper than a needle.
I touched it lightly with my tongue. There was no salty taste.
'Not from the sea, then.'
It meant it wasn't from a massive Origin.
When it came to large concepts related to water, the sea was usually involved.
One of the 6th Rank Mages I had encountered in my past life had been like that.
'It's an attack, but...'
There seemed to be no intention to kill, or even to injure. The fact that I could still think even after being swallowed by the wave was proof of that.
'Is it because of the taboo?'
Killing a Mage from another Magic Tower was a taboo.
It was only possible for someone like Cassion; Otherworld Mages couldn't kill each other in peacetime.
Perhaps because of that, the concentration of magic in the wave was low.
Inside the water, I could see Kubel. My eyes met with Ellen's. Fire? Ellen mouthed. I shook my head.
Their objective today was not to hunt Mages.
It was to find the Otherworld's path in the Second Stage Boundary.
That meant, this time, I shouldn't introduce myself as from the Red Tower.
According to Cassion, fire and water were natural enemies.
He had said they were an old, ill-fated pair.
Path. I mouthed back. Ellen nodded and thrust her sword.
Even without Aura, its force was immense.
The wave that had swallowed my party split in half. The ensuing wind pressure pushed the divided wave sharply to the left and right.
No matter how weakly the Mage's wave was manifested, it was an unbelievably monstrous strength.
Freed from the wave, Kubel landed with a heavy sound. He had good reflexes, as befitting a former hunter.
Next to him, Ellen landed softly and took a stance.
She stood half a step in front of me, her tilted posture looking as if she were protecting me.
In front of them was the Mage who had controlled the wave.
"Hoo."
The Mage, a man, pursed his lips grotesquely.
He was quite a sight, with his dirty skin and a nose without a bridge being his most prominent features. His turbid eyes were fixed on Ellen.
"Tower of Meteoric Iron?"
Meteoric Iron.
It was the name of the tower where Mages related to iron gathered. The Origin of that tower's most outstanding Mage had been meteoric iron. A fragment of a star that fell to Earth.
Ellen glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
The wave Mage didn't notice. When I gave a slight nod, she opened her mouth.
"Ellen, 4th Rank, of the Tower of Meteoric Iron."
Ellen scratched exactly where I was itching.
Thus, she was quite intelligent.
The problem was that she had no intention of using it.
But Ellen knew that now was the time to use it.
This too was an effect of the regression.
It was a choice the Ellen of not long ago would not have made.
'She would have already swung her sword.'
The wave Mage's gaze drifted to the side.
Though he was shorter than Ellen, his gaze seemed to look down on me.
"Harad, 4th Rank of the Ivory Tower. This is a 3rd Rank of the Ivory..."
"Trash."
The wave Mage cut me off.
The Ivory Tower did receive such treatment, but the man's reaction was even more severe.
"Tyrell Aquins, 4th Rank of the Tower of the Deep Sea."
The man said, his gaze fixed on Ellen.
The Tower of the Deep Sea was the tower for Origins related to water.
4th Rank. A hint of disappointment flickered in Ellen's eyes.
She was unconsciously feeling regret that he wasn't a strong opponent. By nature, she was a relentless battle enthusiast. Why else would the knights follow Serzila?
Ellen soon corrected her expression.
She even nodded exaggeratedly.
That gesture seemed to have created a misunderstanding.
"Yes. Just as I suspected. The noble star of the Tower of the Deep Sea, Aquins of the River, is my grandfather."
Tyrell Aquins shrugged, even more exaggeratedly than Ellen.
'No.'
Even if we had pretended not to know, the man would have been just as arrogant. He seemed like that kind of person.
4th Rank. The man was a noble of the Otherworld.
'And a noble for generations, at that.'
Star of the Tower.
It was a term that referred to a great, yet pitiful Mage.
Mages who could have become kings if they had been born in a different era.
It meant that if not for the current master of the Tower of the Deep Sea, the star named Aquins of the River was a talent worthy of becoming a Magic Tower Master.
Tyrell was the grandson of such a star.
In continental terms, he was the scion of a prestigious family.
It meant his magic was greater than any other 4th Rank. The Aquins family must have poured hearts into that ugly child.
Gulp. I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.
The sound was quite loud, but Tyrell seemed not to have heard it. The man's attention was excessively focused on Ellen.
'Is it because she introduced herself as from Meteoric Iron?'
Even though they were both in favor of the long-cherished wish, the relationship between the Deep Sea and Meteoric Iron was lukewarm.
Meaning, their relationship wasn't good enough for his gaze to be so fixed.
'I want to poke his eyes out.'
Tyrell's gaze was so insidious that the thought came to me unconsciously.
* * *
"Well, what is it?"
"..."
Ellen's gaze turned cold as ice.
The one who had approached first was Tyrell. And it wasn't just an approach, but an attack.
I quickly opened my mouth before Ellen could ruin things.
"We were attacked by the fire that burned the Watchtower. The bastard went through the Deep Sea's path..."
"Stay out of it. I asked the one from Meteoric Iron."
A stream of water was suddenly shot at me.
Its sharpness was considerable; if Ellen hadn't blocked it with her sword, my face would have been a bloody mess.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Ellen's face turned icy cold.
"I was teaching you some manners."
"We are both nobles, are we not."
The information about the Otherworld that I learned in this life, Ellen knew as well.
The fact that one becomes a noble from the 4th Rank was information obtained from Herbis.
"Both?"
Tyrell sneered.
"I am a part of the great Deep Sea, the noble Aquins. I cannot be compared to the mongrel Ivory."
"Are you going to disregard Meteoric Iron in the same way?"
"No. Meteoric Iron is passably noble."
Mages skilled in combat despise the Ivory Tower, which lives in closets.
Tyrell was a typical combat Mage.
He was also a typical stuck-up noble young master.
"Ellen of Meteoric Iron. You speak."
Tyrell was favorable towards Ellen.
However, even so, I couldn't erase the feeling that he was looking down on her.
'It's because of the surname.'
Tyrell had the surname Aquins.
It meant he had a bloodline.
'I guess people are the same everywhere.'
Just like on the continent, there were classes among the nobles of the Otherworld.
One becomes a noble from the 4th Rank, but a title obtained solely through personal achievement had its limits.
"It's just as Harad said. We were attacked by the fire, and the bastard went through the Deep Sea's path."
"Fire!"
Tyrell acted surprised, as if hearing it for the first time.
His wide-open eyes materialized fury.
The Tower of the Deep Sea and the Red Tower had been rivals for generations.
"So the rumor that they attacked the Ivory Tower was true."
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly.
As expected, Jesult seemed to have reported to the Ivory Tower that Ios had died by fire.
"I heard that the Ivory received support from Meteoric Iron. That they would search the area around the Sanctuary of Fire."
"That's right."
It seemed to be the story of the Mages who died in the tunnel.
The Mage with Thread as an Origin must have been from the Ivory Tower. The rest all had Origins related to iron.
"What kind of fire was it? Was it really that fire?"
That fire. Ellen glanced at me. I gave a short nod. It meant that what she was thinking was correct.
"That's right. It was the fire that burned the Fire Watchtower. I'm sure of it. Because the Ivory knows best about that fire."
My first exposure was the death of Ios.
That death was reported to Jesult by Compaso, a Mage from the Ivory Tower whose Origin was his eyes, before he died.
Jesult, who reported that fact, invaded the Sanctuary of Fire and died.
"I heard that three mongrels from the Ivory died."
Tyrell called them mongrels.
He did so even though the three were 4th Rank.
'It means he sees Ellen as a mongrel too.'
As I thought this, I clenched my fists and trembled.
Kubel, who had been holding his breath, followed suit.
Right now, the two of them were Mages of the Ivory Tower.
"It seems certain."
Tyrell said, seeing the reaction of me and Kubel.
"You said the Deep Sea's path."
"Yes, that's right. The bastard went there."
The Magic Towers acted independently.
They each had their own individual routes in the Boundary. A relatively safe path in the Boundary.
It was the result of a thirst for knowledge about the Boundary, and in Serzila's terms, it was a Search Route.
However, unlike the Search Routes that were cut off by imperial decree, the paths of the Magic Towers had a clear end.
"How did you know that the place the bastard was going was the Deep Sea's path?"
The blue robe Tyrell was wearing fluttered.
Magic stirred within it. Swoosh. The sound of waves was heard.
'He was more cautious than I thought.'
He didn't believe it immediately upon hearing of the Deep Sea's path, but rather expressed his suspicion after digging for more information.
And that was after reconfirming it through Ellen's mouth.
It must mean he wasn't a 4th Rank for nothing.
Since his bloodline was good, he must have learned a lot too.
Each Magic Tower's infiltration route was top secret.
Only a few of the affiliated Mages knew of it.
"Only those from the Deep Sea would know our Deep Sea's path."
It was a difficult question for Ellen to answer.
The only path she knew was the Moon's path. To be precise, only the infiltration route that Cassion had used.
It didn't really matter.
The place the Watchtower's smoke pointed to did not overlap with the Moon's path.
That was the reason we were talking with Tyrell.
I wanted to confirm the paths of the other Magic Towers.
Because there might be a path that overlapped with the Watchtower's smoke.
"The bastard said so, that he was going to the Deep Sea's path."
I spoke up for the hesitating Ellen.
"Stay out of it, mongrel."
In the man's eyes, I was also a mongrel.
A 4th Rank without a surname was a mongrel.
"It's the truth. The bastard said so himself."
"The fire knows the Deep Sea's path?"
When Ellen spoke, Tyrell accepted it.
But he hadn't completely let go of his suspicion.
"You lot. You said you were attacked by the bastard. But you look fine."
"We were lucky. He seemed to be conserving his strength."
"Meaning he had another objective?"
"I don't know what that objective is, but it's probably in the Deep Sea's path."
Ellen did not avoid Tyrell's gaze.
How much time had passed, Tyrell nodded.
It was the first sign of affirmation from the man.
"Tell me about the bastard."
"He looked young. Around 20."
"Still immature, I see."
Tyrell's eyes sparkled.
The look of someone who had found their prey.
"...He's probably a 4th Rank. Since we were defeated."
We. Ellen said so, but Tyrell didn't even glance at me and Kubel.
"Did he succeed in Projection? Ah, a foolish question. It is a state I have just succeeded in."
Ellen's gaze turned cold.
Tyrell looked to be around 30.
"Was the bastard alone?"
"Yes. He was alone."
"I see. So the rumor that even the Red Tower has yet to make contact with the bastard is true."
Tyrell stroked his chin with a serious expression.
He seemed to be calculating in his head.
How much time had passed, the hand stroking his chin stopped. Tyrell opened his mouth.
"Good. I will kill the fire that burned the Watchtower. You will be the witnesses to that great achievement. Consider it an honor, Ivory."
At that decision, my eyes lit up.
He had already laid the groundwork by saying the fire went to the Deep Sea's path.
The words that he would make our party witnesses were the same as saying he would take them to the Deep Sea's path.
'So this works.'
The statement that his target went to the Deep Sea's path was close to a stretch. How would he have known the path of another Magic Tower to go there.
But Tyrell fell for it. It was because the target's Origin was fire.
It was because the Tower of the Deep Sea hated the Red Tower.
Because of a long-standing incompatibility, Cassion had said.
'The Tower of the Deep Sea hates nothing as much as fire.'
For such a Tyrell, the fire that burned the Watchtower was right in front of him. For now, it would be the biggest fire.
Because the Mages of the Red Tower couldn't set fire to the Watchtower.
'Killing a Mage from another Magic Tower is a taboo.'
But Tyrell knew that I was not a member of the Red Tower.
It was a golden opportunity. As the man said, it would be a great achievement.
"There is one condition."
"This would be a good opportunity for the Tower of the Deep Sea as well."
An opportunity to crush the hopes of their rival.
The smoke from the Watchtower was only visible to me.
Without me, the Red Tower couldn't find their king's treasure.
"You are too greedy, mongrel of the Ivory. This is to cover up your failure and to avenge the Ivory. Should there not be a price?"
"...What is the condition?"
Ellen asked.
Tyrell's words had a point.
To be precise, there seemed to be no room for negotiation. We were the ones in a tight spot.
"Ellen, 4th Rank of Meteoric Iron. Become mine."
"Pardon?"
"It means you are to bear an Aquins. It is an unparalleled honor for a mongrel."
Tyrell's eyes gleamed hideously.
"Meteoric Iron will also welcome that choice."
"..."
Ellen realized why Tyrell hadn't called her a mongrel.
She had wondered if there was a special reason, but the man was just a fly buzzing around a flower.
Normally, she would have already swung her sword, but this was an exception.
The condition was meaningless in the first place.
Tyrell was going to die on the Deep Sea's path anyway.
What was important now was that the Deep Sea's path was right in front of them.
That path might overlap in direction with the Watchtower's smoke. I wanted to confirm its end. Ellen felt the same.
So Ellen nodded nonchalantly.
"Alright..."
"You talk like shit."
It was then.
A voice that suddenly popped out cut Ellen off.
A very hot voice.
"What?"
Tyrell's face crumpled as he turned.
Ellen turned her gaze in the same direction.
"I said you talk like shit."
I was burning brightly.