An alley lined with old commercial buildings. Normally, it would be crowded with people and full of a lively atmosphere. However, there were no merchants actively buying and selling goods or customers haggling over prices to be found anywhere. The atmosphere of the deserted street was quite ominous. A woman with her hood pulled down low crossed the dark street. As she walked, she could hear people's conversations filled with worry and anxiety.
"People died in the palace again."
"I heard the scale of this treason is enormous?"
"Quite a few people are missing in the capital."
People whispered with fear-filled faces.
"No, but why on earth did the Saintess do something like that?"
"I don't know about that, I heard she was dragged away by the Imperial Guards on the spot and is now imprisoned in the Bahican dungeon."
"They will arrest and thoroughly investigate all those who conspired with the Saintess and plotted treason."
"I heard that, as an example of what happens when you harbor rebellious thoughts, a Saintess will be publicly executed in front of the people at the end of this month."
"She tried to kill His Majesty the Emperor, so isn't it only natural that she should be sentenced to death?"
The atmosphere between them was tense.
"Then, was His Highness the Grand Duke of Colesberg also dragged to prison?"
"..."
When Jeremiah's story came up, the woman's footsteps stopped abruptly.
"No. It seems that His Highness the Grand Duke had no idea that the Saintess would do such a thing. However, he failed to protect His Majesty the Emperor. They held him responsible and banished him to the North that very day."
"What is this world trying to become?"
"It's the end of the world, the end of the world."
"That's what I mean."
The woman who had stopped for a moment hurried her steps again. She went into a nearby open store and asked.
"Do you have any groceries left?"
"Oh my. The business partner just collected everything, so there's nothing left..."
The shop owner, who had been scratching his head in embarrassment, glanced at the woman's face inside the hood and spoke quietly.
"Actually, I do have some decent fruits, though they're not worth selling. Would you like me to give them to you if you need them?"
"Please."
At the woman's words, the shop owner brought out a small basket of fruit from inside the shop.
"If you have the money, it would be a good idea to buy bread while it's still available. Flour is also likely to become increasingly difficult to obtain."
The shopkeeper added as he rolled up a cloth bag containing the fruit and handed it to her.
"And make sure you keep this hidden. If you're seen carrying groceries, they might take them away."
"Thank you for your concern."
The woman took out a gold coin from her bosom and handed it over. The shop owner waved his hand in surprise when he saw the gold coin.
"No, this is too much!"
"This is the price you paid for being so kind. Goodbye."
The woman said goodbye and walked out of the store. As she left the store, she saw two soldiers in armor, swords slung at their waists, wandering in the distance. After the soldiers passed, people lamented with gloomy faces that their lives were getting harder day by day. The woman glanced at them and quietly headed to the opposite alley, carefully looking around. After confirming that there was no one around, she opened the door to the most shabby-looking old house and went in. As soon as she entered, she locked the door and pulled the handle on the floor to open the entrance to the basement. Then, a narrow staircase with a musty moldy smell appeared on the dark floor. After going down the stairs for a while, she finally reached the room through the long hallway and took off her hood.
"Whew. It's so hard to just go out and come back."
Karina, who brushed her red hair, sighed. Not long ago, the Emperor had killed Marquis Millainer. The moment she realized that she had an ominous feeling that the Emperor would not leave her alone either. Then, she heard the news that the Saintess had tried to assassinate the Emperor at the wedding but failed. As soon as she heard the news of the Saintess's failed assassination, Karina changed into a fake identity she had prepared in advance and thoroughly erased the Grand Duchess's activities. David's advice also played a part.
Things seem to be going strangely. She thinks it would be best to stay hidden until she can figure out exactly what's going on.
When the urgent news came, David was the one who understood the situation more coolly than anyone else. As expected, the news of the Marquis's house being burned spread, and Karina was pointed out as the culprit. This was because the Emperor mentioned the Saintess and Karina as the culprits who killed the Marquis. In conclusion, Karina was currently wanted as the culprit who killed the Marquis.
'If I hadn't followed His Highness the Crown Prince's advice, it would have been too late to hide myself.'
If that had happened, it would have been dizzying to think what would have happened to her by now. David had provided her with this shelter and given her a considerable amount of money to stay there for a while.
'He said he'd let me know when things were sorted out.'
That was already a week ago. But even today, she still hasn't heard from him. She was getting anxious. Every time Karina saw the mood in the city getting more tense and heard all kinds of rumors going around, she couldn't have a day of peace because of worry and concern.
Then. Click.
The door opened and Hasten came in.
"Are you here?"
"Yes. I'm back."
While hiding under the fake identity prepared by Selena, Hasten was assigned to guard Karina just in case something happened. In addition to guarding her, he also received water and necessities sent by Selena. He was also a great help in keeping in touch with David, keeping track of rumors and the movements of the surroundings.
Hasten took out a plain white envelope from his outer coat pocket and handed it to her.
"I got a call from there."
"...!"
Finally, the long-awaited letter from David arrived. Karina quickly received the letter and checked its contents. It contained news that the imperial situation was not good and that he was also going into hiding to avoid the bad situation for a while. It mainly contained the message that he would contact her again later and that she should never leave her current residence.
Just before sending the letter, it seemed that he had hastily added another letter, which contained information about a serious situation occurring in the Magic Tower and the North. It was due to the sudden monster wave. Karina was startled when she read the news.
'Why is the demon wave happening now?'
It was even written that the situation in the North was worse than expected.
According to what she heard earlier, Jeremiah was in the North.
'Are they having a hard time even though he's here?'
Karina's face darkened. She was not at ease because she had seen Jeremiah suffer a serious injury and collapse once, unlike in the past. Her eyes were filled with pity as she saw his weak appearance, which seemed like it would never break.
'Is he okay?'
At the same time, the rumor that the Saintess had tried to kill the Emperor at the wedding came to mind.
'What on earth was Lucia thinking when she did something like that?'
'Even in the past when I was dead, would she have tried to kill the Emperor on her wedding day?"
Unresolved questions complicated Karina's mind.
"Huh. I don't know."
Karina sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hand.
"For now, just think about hiding safely."
Hasten spoke as if trying to comfort the distressed Karina.
"I guess that's the way it should be for now."
As she nodded, she saw the red artifact she had received from Pavel. Then, she remembered what he had said to her when she received it.
'You just need to return to the medium until the artifact's color becomes completely transparent.'
When she first received it, it was a blood-red artifact. However, over time, It had become translucent.
'I guess I'll have to go back to the North sometime soon.'
As Karina thought about that, she suddenly remembered Mikhail vowing to her that he would definitely find a way to completely free her from the shackles of the dragon contract.
'By the way, I wonder if Mikhail is safe and well?"
Karina wasn't particularly worried about the magic tower. That's understandable.
'It'll be okay since the Lord of the Tower is also there on the Tower.&
Still, Mikhail's absence was felt with regret.
'It would be great if he were there with me at a time like this.'
His absence was so regrettable. Meanwhile, at that time, contrary to Karina's expectations, Magic Tower was experiencing a near-death incident...
"Damage!!!"
Kookwakwang!!!!
The main gate and walls of the tower collapsed here and there and there were explosions.
"Ugh!"
"Save me!!"
The magic tower had been transformed into the land of war. The wizards were trying their best to hold out, but it was all in vain.
Keeeeek!!
“Kkaaaah!”
The magic barrier was breached and millions of monsters rushed in like mad.
"Gasp gasp."
The Magic Tower was having a hard time avoiding the endless waves of monsters that were attacking him.
"Master!"
Mikhail came running in a hurry.
"You came at a good time. Hurry up and take care of the children and the injured and get them to a safe place!"
Pavel shouted at Mikhail loudly. Mikhail's expression became serious at Pavel's words telling him to give up guarding the tower and move the people to safety.
"But then we have to empty the tower!"
"Human life is the most important thing, what use is a magic tower?"
"Still...it will take some time to move all the children and the injured to a safe place."
When Mikhail hesitated as if he was reluctant to leave his seat, Pavel shouted at him.
"What's so great about you being gone for a bit? What do you think of my skills! I'm still fine. There's no time, so move quickly!"
"Yes, then I'll take them to a safe place and come back right away, so just hold on until I get back! Got it?"
As Mikhail was about to leave, Pavel shouted loudly.
"Michael!"
"..."
Mikhail was surprised when Pavel called him by his name. It felt very strange for his teacher, who usually called his disciples, this guy, that guy, by their names, to call him by his name so politely.
"Why... why?"
Pavel, who was watching Mikhail blink in bewilderment, snickered and suddenly said.
"That girl. I like her!"
"... Yes?"
Mikhail asked back with a look of surprise at the sudden remark.
"What are you talking about?"
Okay then.
"That redhead! Didn't you say she got divorced and became free? Then it doesn't matter if things work out with you now, right?"
"..."
"I agree, so take care of that lady."
Then Mikhail, who had been laughing as if he found it ridiculous, grumbled again with a sullen face.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about in a situation like this? And I'll take care of it myself."
"Yeah, yeah."
Pavel chuckled and pushed Mikhail on the back again, telling him to hurry up and go.
"I'll be back soon!"
Mikhail used his vast magical power to transport all the children and the injured people in the magic tower to a safe location by casting a magic spell.
Wheeing!
The light that came out of the magic circle enveloped Mikhail and the people inside the magic circle. Pavel watched Mikhail disappearing above the magic circle with hazy eyes and muttered quietly to himself.
"You have grown up so well, my son."
A pleasant smile lingered on his lips for a moment. But after a while, it turned into a bitter smile.
'No matter how capable he is, it'll take some time if we cut off the coordinates before he can return."
Mikhail didn't know, but there was actually a traitor inside the Magic Tower. The magic circle that protected the Magic Tower all year round was breached from the inside. One of the senators who had been in the Magic Tower for a long time had destroyed the defensive magic circle that was normally activated. The defensive magic, which was strong against external attacks but vulnerable to internal attacks, was easily broken. And as soon as the protective magic disappeared, the monsters swarmed in as if they had been waiting. The traitor escaped during the confusion, but every time Pavel cast a spell to block the monsters and protect the Magic Tower, there were sabotage attempts. As a result, they were having a hard time dealing with the monsters' attacks.
"Whew. Damn it."
In addition, Pavel suffered serious damage to his internal organs due to black magic. His internal organs were contaminated, and his magic power could not circulate smoothly. Whenever he used magic, his stomach would churn, blood would rise, and his vision would become pitch black. Even if Mikhail was present, the danger did not change. It was not a natural swarm of monsters, but an artificial and planned attack that someone had manipulated from behind to attack the magic tower.
No one knew what else the traitor had planned. It was clear that the ones behind it were the black magicians they were chasing. Pavel did not want Mikhail to face those swarms of monsters and be exposed to the threats and traps that the black magicians had prepared.
'No parent would just sit by and watch their child be put in danger.'
That was why he lied and pretended that nothing was wrong to evacuate him along with the children. Pavel, whose face had changed to a serious one without a single smile, struck his wand on the magic circle where Mikhail had disappeared.
Crack!
With a sharp crack, the faintly, glowing magic circle shattered and the light scattered.
Cough! Cough!
Pavel coughed and spat out a handful of blood.
"This is enough."
'Still, I'm glad I was able to say goodbye for the last time.'
Originally, in such dangerous situations, there were countless cases where one could not even see the face of a loved one, let alone say goodbye to them. Having lived for so many years, Pavel knew that he was lucky. Still...
"It's a shame that the greeting time is so short."
It broke his heart to have to leave without seeing Mikhail get married, start a family, and live happily.
"Kwaaaaang!!"
The monsters rushed towards him with a loud roar.
"They're like a bunch of fucking monsters. They're not going to be easily defeated."
Pavel raised his staff towards the monsters and chanted a magic spell. He prepared for the final battle with all his might.
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