Chapter 33

In front of the entrance of Magung Academy at Jerion Academy.

A young noble with long silver hair tied up stood there.

His name was Nia Cynthia.

Currently an active magical knight, he was one of the empire’s promising future candidates, named as the heir of the Yellow Magic Tower Lord.

As Nia approached the entrance of Magung, the guards, who had received prior notice, saluted him.

“You’ve had a hard time.”

Nia acknowledged their salute and stepped forward to the entrance.

Then, he raised his hand to reach inside.

Zap!

At that moment, as sparks flew from his fingertips, he was pushed back.

As expected.

Even though he frequently entered Magung during his time at Jerion Academy, now it wouldn’t let him in either.

If he tried to force his way in, he would surely be burned to a crisp and die on the spot.

Nia clicked his tongue, nursing his slightly burned fingertips.

He had improved a lot with magic since his days at Jerion Academy, yet he still couldn’t proceed even a bit past the barrier set by the Evil Zone.

‘What a nasty piece of work.’

Nia showed a look of disgust. They set up this barrier and only lured innocent children who couldn’t reach him to fight the apostles.

It was truly pathetic.

That’s why he had come here to test his magic this time.

He didn’t want to rely on the children anymore.

This was also the main reason he sided with the 1st Prince.

The 1st Prince was a reformative figure.

He sought to fix flawed systems and actively invested in things that could be tested.

This was in stark contrast to the 3rd Princess Faction.

The 3rd Princess Faction always said about the 1st Prince:

“Reforming is harder than a revolution.”

Ironically, this was what led the 1st Prince to focus more on gathering existing power structures rather than future forces.

“Gathering only new talents and claiming reform is meaningless. Existing power structures are always afraid of their rights being infringed. So, when new talents propose reform, they first try to block it.”

The 1st Prince might seem headstrong, but he was always a deeply contemplative individual.

“That’s why the first ones to persuade shouldn’t be the new talents, but the existing powers. If you proceed without respecting the existing power, it won’t solve problems; it will only cause more serious issues. We value the present as a foundation to create a glorious future.”

To realize his vision of an ideal empire.

The 1st Prince aimed to grasp the present and move toward the future.

Nia felt a sense of nostalgia toward the 1st Prince.

If it’s the 1st Prince, he surely would be suitable to make the empire ideal.

“Nia Cynthia, I hope you become my future.”

The present, he would control.

So, he wanted Nia to be his future.

There couldn’t be a more touching statement from a subject.

Nia willingly accepted the 1st Prince’s proposal.

And he resolved to make him emperor.

‘What I am going to accomplish today is one step towards the 1st Prince’s future.’

Nia began to sprinkle reagents on the ground.

Then, he pulled out his wand from his waist and started drawing a magic circle with the reagents.

After a while, he completed the magic circle and firmly struck the wand on it.

Magic power began to surge from Nia’s body.

Magic is an act that defies the rules of the world.

And how well one can obscure the world’s gaze and bend the rules is a magician’s true skill.

Nia had a natural talent for avoiding the world’s eye.

The magic circle inscribed beneath his feet began to glow.

Words of incantation to deceive the world flowed from his mouth.

At the moment the magic circle emitted bright light, Nia’s figure vanished within it.

With a soft sound—

Moments later, a young boy emerged from the light.

A boy in his mid-teens now wore the magical knight uniform that Nia had previously donned.

It was the appearance of Nia from his younger days.

Nia clenched and unclenched his hands.

He felt a slightly smaller body than before.

His face and skin also felt significantly younger.

‘Adjusting one’s age accurately is still a challenge.’

Originally, he had aimed for his late teens, but he had ended up in his mid-teens.

This was clear evidence that the magic was incomplete.

Moreover, the amount of magic power he possessed was significantly lower compared to when he was in his original form.

As mentioned, magic is an act of deceiving the world.

So, to successfully cast magic, Nia had to forcibly reduce his innate magic as well.

If he could return to his original form, he could recover it.

But in this form, his magical output had a limit.

‘No wonder magic that reduces age hasn’t been commonly used until now.’

If he could age back while retaining his original power, it would be fine, but being weakened like this makes it difficult to thrive in the Magung.

Moreover, very few individuals could even manage to wield age-reducing magic to this extent.

It was possible only because he was a magical knight with talent and skill like Nia.

Typical magicians would hardly dare to attempt such magic.

That’s because, in the process of deceiving the world, there was a risk of their own body becoming something else.

‘And right now, this is magic I can’t even share with anyone else except myself.’

It was a magic that had many aspects to be refined.

However, Nia was determined to complete this magic.

If he could complete it, he could face the Evil Zone head-on.

‘Now, let’s see.’

It was time to test if he met the passing conditions for entering Magung.

Nia reached out for the entrance again.

This time, his hand moved forward without any sparks.

Nia’s eyes went wide in surprise.

It worked.

He could truly enter Magung.

“Nia Cynthia, you’ve succeeded!”

The Magung guards exclaimed in astonishment.

This success indicated that they had taken one step closer to conquering Magung.

“Yeah, just a sec, I’m going in.”

“Isn’t it too dangerous?”

“I’ve spent three years going in and out of Magung. If it’s dangerous on the first floor, then I’ll never be able to enter Magung again.”

Nia reassured the guards not to worry and stepped inside.

And soon, the interiors of Magung began to unfold before his eyes.

Above him, the sun created by Magung was shining down.

It had been a while since they cleared out the apostles.

As such, the Gray Forest remained unchanged, silently still.

No signs of any apostles could be felt anywhere.

It wasn’t the time for apostles to be born yet.

Nia let out a quiet breath.

Though magic power may have diminished, he still retained the skills he honed as a magician.

Perhaps that’s why, deep within Magung, he faintly sensed the presence of the Evil Zone lurking.

His breath hitched slightly.

What kind of monster was this, that even from a distance, it instilled fear?

‘This level is still far from enough.’

Nia clicked his tongue.

He realized he still had a long way to go in researching age-reducing magic.

‘I should head back.’

He now knew he could enter.

He thought this alone was a significant achievement and was about to turn around when—

A shiver ran down his spine.

At that moment, something chilling spread through his body.

As Nia slowly turned his head, a murky something resembling a human figure was slithering out from the wall of the Magung.

The black liquid that emerged from the wall splattered on the ground.

Simultaneously, a long cord attached to the presence was severed.

Nia’s eyes widened as he sensed what was about to happen.

It was an apostle.

An apostle was being born right before him.

‘At this time?’

He didn’t know the reason.

Magung was a place where one could never be completely certain, no matter how much they investigated.

It wasn’t unusual for anything to happen.

However, he faintly sensed that Magung had noticed a foreign presence like his.

A being that deceived the rules of the world.

In response, Magung sent something back.

Nia pulled out his wand.

The moment he realized the opponent was an apostle, he didn’t hesitate.

Though his magic was lacking, the foe was merely a newly born apostle.

When he started to gather magic power to eliminate it before the apostle could fully form—

Fizz!

At that moment, the magic power that had been gathering at the tip of his wand suddenly extinguished.

“What?!”

And it wasn’t just that.

The magic power that was dwelling within started to be sucked into the wand.

Strange crimson light spread from the wand.

“Cough?!”

With a panicked shout, Nia attempted to release the wand from his hands.

However, the magic power stretching from the wand greedily constricted around his hands.

Nia realized upon seeing this.

‘This power, could it be the horn of a unicorn?’

The mystical unicorn.

A strange rarity that follows and devours the magic of young beings that haven’t yet transitioned to adulthood.

This wand must have been crafted from the melted horn of such a unicorn.

Unicorns are tremendously peculiar beings.

Even skilled magicians with excellent abilities remain oblivious to their presence, concealing themselves until they devour young magic.

And that’s why there’s a saying out there.

The unicorn is a rarity adults can’t even see.

That’s why even Nia, who was named the heir to the Magic Tower Lord, couldn’t feel the unicorn’s horn contained in the wand at all.

But right now, though, Nia was in a younger form.

So now, the horn’s power, which hadn’t reacted before when using magic, finally began to exert itself.

Confusion clouded Nia’s expression.

This wand was crafted by a potter recommended by a close friend of his.

The fact that such a wand was hiding a unicorn’s horn meant—

‘A trap.’

Nia realized that his acquaintance had betrayed him.

He didn’t have to think too hard to figure out who was behind it.

The 3rd Princess Faction.

It was undoubtedly a trap they had set up.

“Damn it!”

Nia cursed as he desperately tried to let go of the wand.

However, the unicorn’s horn only greedily consumed Nia’s magic and showed no signs of letting go.

With a splat, crack!

In the meantime, the apostle had fully formed.

It had donned an outer shell and wielded enormous swords in both hands, its multiple eyes rolled around before locking onto Nia.

Its four eyes spun grotesquely.

“―――――!”

Then, the apostle let out a monstrous roar.

It lunged toward Nia with a thundering rush.

Thud thud thud thud!

A magician is an incredibly weak being without magic power.

On top of that, Nia was in a younger state and hadn’t fully adapted to his body.

Nia desperately tried to throw himself out of the way, but the apostle was already on top of him.

Was he going to die?

Like this?

He wouldn’t even fulfill the 1st Prince’s wishes.

He wouldn’t be able to seize control of the family so that his younger sister Nikita could live without worrying about it.

He also wouldn’t keep the promise he made with his deceased mother.

Flashes of past memories passed through his mind.

‘No!’

Just as Nia poured all his magic into a final desperate attempt—

Kaahhhnn!

A boy stepped in front of him.

A boy with black hair, shorter than the younger Nia.

Upon seeing him, Nia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You…”

Hanon Irey.

A boy who was a member of the student council alongside his sister Nikita.

He sighed in relief as he looked at Nia.

“Looks like I’m not too late.”

Then, his crimson eyes locked onto the apostle.

With his fingers extended, Hanon wore a sly grin.

“You’ve brought a guest, huh? Better serve them well.”