novelraw Chapter 64 : A Desolate World (1)
Chapter 64 : A Desolate World (1)
Chapter 64: A Desolate World (1)
As soon as we entered the city, we couldn’t help but look around like lost children.
No, we really were lost.
Because…
There were two entrances—each leading to another city within the city itself.
“Street of Mages…?”
“Street of Swordsmen…?”
Kiena and Hei read the signs posted above each entrance.
“……”
I simply kept my mouth shut.
‘No way… even down here in the Underworld?’
No matter how deep their hatred or how determined their separation—
I never imagined their territories would actually be divided like this.
Just what had happened up at the summit?
It was definitely something both the Archmage and the Grand Swordsman had agreed upon.
Otherwise, such a phenomenon could never occur.
The summit above was the only place where the two isolated factions—the mages and swordsmen—could communicate.
Back when I was the Archmage, I often chatted with the Grand Swordsman through the Sealing Stone whenever boredom crept in during my time guarding it.
That Sealing Stone had been the only means by which both sides could exchange opinions.
Which is why I could only conclude—there’s no way those two reached an agreement peacefully.
Something must have happened in the Underworld while I was at the academy.
And depending on which side that “something” began with, the entire interpretation would change.
I didn’t know who the current Grand Swordsman was, but the Archmage was Tyrant.
Someone I knew all too well.
Finding sociability in that guy would be harder than coaxing obedience from a wild beast.
I examined the entrances.
The Street of Mages was surrounded by a magical barrier, while the Street of Swordsmen relied on manpower—pairs of swordsmen stationed at fixed intervals.
Judging by the black hue of the barrier around the Street of Mages, it was clear the Draco Family had installed everything.
The Underworld—once peaceful—
had turned oppressively desolate.
“Let’s… just go.”
Kiena led us toward the orphanage.
But the orphanage lay within the Street of Swordsmen.
Naturally, her steps turned toward that entrance.
Ssshk.
“Why are you walking this way wearing Magic Academy uniforms?”
The swordsman guarding the entrance raised his gleaming greatsword and pointed its tip directly at Kiena’s throat.
Even though he seemed to be of considerable rank, his reaction toward a child was excessive—borderline violent.
His eyes burned with nothing but hatred.
And his voice—cold and heavy, like someone speaking from the depths underground.
‘It wasn’t like this before…’
This wasn’t how the swordsmen I knew behaved.
Something had definitely happened.
Between mages and swordsmen.
No—between Tyrant and the Grand Swordsman.
Kiena and Hei froze, unable to utter a word.
Understandable—having a massive blade at your neck, gripped by a man with arms as thick as logs and a scowling face, would terrify anyone.
I stepped forward and spoke.
“Our orphanage is inside the Street of Swordsmen. We’re all orphans.”
I said it in the most innocent, pleading tone I could muster—trying to avoid conflict.
“So?”
His reply was as cold as the steel he held.
“We have nowhere else to go. The only place we can stay is the orphanage we grew up in. If we can’t go there, we’ll have to sleep on the streets…”
“That’s strange. There’s no orphanage in the Street of Swordsmen.”
The other swordsman—standing beside the one holding the greatsword—answered without even looking up from the swordsmanship book he was reading.
At least his voice was softer—almost gentle compared to the first.
And in it, I could sense a faint trace of sympathy toward us.
But still—
What did he mean, there was no orphanage?
“What do you mean there isn’t one? We definitely lived there, inside the Street of Swordsmen.”
“The place these students are talking about… must be that one.”
Thud.
He closed his book and met my gaze.
But only for a moment—his eyes soon turned toward the other swordsman still pointing his greatsword at Kiena.
“Students from that orphanage, huh… that’s unfortunate.”
“So?”
“Do you really need to be so harsh? They’re just kids who don’t know anything. If you’re an adult, at least act like one and explain.”
“They’re mages, remember.”
“Come on. They’re barely over ten. What sins could they have committed? It’s the upper-ranked mages we despise, not these children.”
The gentler swordsman patted the other’s shoulder and said, “Put it down.”
With a reluctant scowl, the swordsman lowered his greatsword.
Kiena gasped, exhaling the breath she’d been holding as though someone had just released their grip from her throat.
“Now then, kids. Sorry, but—you’re mages, right?”
The kind-voiced swordsman pointed at our uniforms.
The three of us nodded at once.
“Mages are absolutely forbidden from entering the Street of Swordsmen. Likewise, swordsmen don’t enter the Street of Mages. So, while I sympathize, we can’t let you in.”
“But…”
“And that orphanage no longer exists—ever since the streets were divided.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Well, I don’t really know the details. Just… adult matters. So, why don’t you head back? Mages should stay in the Street of Mages.”
He gently tried to persuade us.
Why would the orphanage disappear just because the streets were divided, when it wasn’t even an academy facility?
I suddenly found myself wondering what had really happened behind the scenes.
But one thing was clear—even in this situation.
The only place we could call home was gone.
‘I don’t see any better options.’
Heading to the Street of Mages?
Even if we went, there was nowhere to stay—only discomfort waiting for us there.
It wasn’t as though I could just waste time wandering aimlessly on the streets when no one even knew when the academy would reopen.
With all these circumstances piling up, only one place came to mind.
“Understood. Thank you.”
Honestly, I didn’t feel grateful in the least, but since I was pretending to be an innocent child, I at least had to say something polite.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
The swordsman who had been reading a book on swordsmanship seemed, at the very least, to be a man of compassion.
The greatsword-wielding one beside him, however… honestly, I didn’t care much for him.
“Let’s go, kids.”
“Go where…?”
“Just follow me quietly.”
I trudged along, taking the two of them toward where Banshi was.
Behind us, I heard the brief exchange between the two swordsmen.
“Looks like the orphans weren’t expelled. I heard quite a few commoner-born mages got expelled this time.”
“Well, their parents lived in the Swordsman’s District. It was the natural decision.”
“I suppose so.”
…So that was it.
The three 1st Class students who had suddenly been expelled last time—
That mystery had just been solved.
When the districts were divided, the students whose families lived in the Swordsman’s District were expelled.
They were trying to force a perfectly clean severance from their old lives.
They could have just made them move, but the fact that they expelled them outright was proof enough.
“So where are we going?”
Now that we’d left the city and were walking through the forest, Hei asked.
Kiena seemed to have realized where we were headed the moment she saw the forest.
“To Banshi.”
“Huh?”
Hei’s eyes swept across the vast expanse of trees.
In this enormous forest, where exactly was Banshi supposed to be? That’s what his eyes were asking.
‘She said she wanted to be alone, but given the situation, I’ll have to do things my own way for now.’
“So, that’s what happened?”
After arriving at Banshi’s hideout, I explained the situation in the city.
I wanted to discuss things in more depth, but Hei and Kiena were both with us.
So, we only exchanged the necessary words.
“Yeah, so I think we’ll have to stay together until the academy reopens.”
“…Well, given the situation, there’s no helping it.”
Banshi trailed off, watching me carefully.
‘How are you interpreting this situation, Archis?’
That’s what her gaze was clearly saying.
I merely gave a small shake of my head.
“Wow, this is Banshi’s secret hideout?”
“Don’t you dare tell anyone. If you do, I’ll burn everything.”
“Don’t worry! I can keep a secret!”
Having come here for the first time, Hei looked around the musty cave with eyes full of curiosity, like he’d just discovered the secret chamber in the 1st Class library.
The moment Kiena stepped inside, she hugged the summoning tome she’d been eager to read and immediately began poring over it.
And just like that, the four of us were together again until the academy’s reopening.
“I’ve been expecting you, Headmaster.”
“Address me properly.”
“Well, I think this is proper enough. I’m not a professor at this academy—why would I bother with ‘sir’? Honorifics alone should suffice.”
Ed Etar had come down temporarily to the 6th Class.
And now he was facing Captain Daemon of the Royal Guard in the vice headmaster’s office.
From the start, there was a fierce battle of wills between them.
Their families had never shared a friendly relationship.
It was a defining characteristic of the Ed and Lamic Families.
In fact, right after Etar had become Archis Eimer’s disciple, he had the worst relationship with Lamic Livia—the disciple of the Water Element, head of the Lamic Family, and the headmaster of the Lamic Branch School.
Even worse than with Tyrant himself.
Whenever they met, they were at each other’s throats.
Etar deliberately avoided looking at Ignito and kept his eyes locked solely on Daemon.
“Now, if you’ll send me to the 1st Class, Headmaster.”
“Before that, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Don’t. I’ve no intention of answering.”
It was Etar’s first face-to-face encounter with Daemon today.
But something felt off.
Even with his position as Captain of the Royal Guard and Tyrant’s powerful backing, he was being far too brazen.
It was like two beasts baring their teeth and gums at each other—moments before the blood and fur began to fly.
“You came to my academy under Tyrant’s orders, didn’t you?”
“Address properly, Headmaster. It’s Full Moon.”
But Daemon’s expression immediately changed.
The moment Tyrant’s name left Etar’s lips, his face stiffened unnaturally, his reaction almost too sharp.
“Well now. Just as you refuse to call me ‘sir’ since I’m not a professor, I see no reason to use that title since I’m not one of the Royal Guard. You know, after all, that Tyrant and I were ‘schoolmates.’”
Etar spoke leisurely, scratching further at Daemon’s nerves.
“Headmaster, you’re a member of the Magical Society, and the Full Moon is its leader. You’d best use the proper title.”
Still, Daemon warned him.
“You’re mistaken. There’s no rule saying one must call every Archmage ‘Full Moon.’”
“……”
“Anyway, let’s drop that topic. So, you’re heading to the 1st Class to see the students, right?”
Etar now brought out the main point.
And it was clear this was under Tyrant’s orders.
“That’s right.”
“Funny thing, though.”
Etar’s lips curved into a smile.
“There aren’t any students for you to see in the 1st Class. Classes are suspended.”
“Oh, really?”
Daemon, however, smiled right back—without the slightest hint of surprise.