Chapter 324

The Ivory Tower had become a complete mess.

A long line formed in front of the magic tool elevators.

“Don’t push!”

“Is this going down or up?”

“We’re going up to bring the elders on the 90th floor.”

“What are you saying? Go down! It’s spreading below! We need to set up the partitions first.”

The magicians argued fiercely, pulling each other’s beards and hair, and in the midst of it all, the elevator passed by their floor.

It seemed like they couldn’t wait any longer.

“Brother! This way!”

Sererassie guided me to the stairs.

As I flung open the door, a bizarre sight greeted me.

Magicians were sprawled out on the stairs at various intervals.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“Augh!”

“Help me!”

From the white-haired old man to the young apprentices, they leaned on their staffs and awkwardly stood in the middle of the stairs, unable to go up or down.

I urgently asked one, propping them up.

They might have been afflicted by a curse or corruption.

“What happened? Did they get hit?”

“My legs, my legs hurt too much.”

Krios smiled awkwardly.

“Looks like a lack of stamina. Haha.”

Oh dear.

After throwing that magician aside, I turned to Niar.

“Niar. You said 71st floor, right?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

This was the 50th floor.

I turned my back to Sererassie.

“…Sister. Hop on.”

She hesitated for a moment before placing her hands around my neck.

“…You’re really grateful.”

Typically, a floor in a building is 3.3m, but the Ivory Tower had a height of 5m per floor.

Having ascended 21 floors, we had moved vertically a total of 105m, and since we spiraled up the staircase, the actual distance covered must have been many times that.

Gestarte fell behind, and Krios enhanced herself with life magic to support her.

I climbed the stairs with Sererassie in one arm and Niar in the other.

The navy blue magician and the ivory white magician dangled on either side.

“Sister! Why are you so light!”

“Isn’t that lucky?”

I had no words.

“….”

How long had we walked?

Finally, I spotted a sign that read the 71st floor.

I kicked the door open.

Bam!

The white corridor was filled with the loud incantations and shouts of magicians, mana pulsating wildly, and a chilling aura emanated from afar.

“Lower the partition! Isolation comes first!”

“Purify with fire! Pillar of Divine Flames!”

“Get the destruction faction here and set up a telekinetic barrier first. We can’t stop it otherwise!”

“Ypise is here! Everyone step aside!”

“Come out! Just come out!”

“What do you mean come out? Get purified first. Bring the holy water!”

“Ugh, ugh. We ran out of holy water. The amount stocked in the Ivory Tower was never sufficient.”

“There’s an injured person! Is there a life magic faction?”

“Tell the injured to not come here and get purified first! If we’re not careful, we’ll all fall into corruption!”

“What are you saying!”

“We can’t die together!”

“Why hasn’t the partition come down yet?”

If the 50th floor was a mess, the 71st floor was chaos.

The whole corridor was in confusion, a jumble of those trying to exit and those trying to enter.

“….”

“Hahaha.”

Sererassie was at a loss for words, and Niar was sweating profusely.

Up ahead, I spotted two elder magicians raising their voices.

“Why isn’t the partition down yet!”

“There’s a crucial grimoire inside!”

“Is the grimoire more important than our students’ lives?”

“It’s a direct copy of Almendel!”

“……!”

The elder who had been raising his voice fell silent.

I asked Sererassie.

“What’s a copy of Almendel?”

Sererassie took a breath and answered in a rush.

“It’s a grimoire that applies the angel summoning ritual of the Church of Light to call forth the ancient or demonic entities, guiding only the benevolent selves to manifest in humans. The original has been lost, so the direct copy is the purest knowledge, and it seems there’s one left inside.”

“Is that necessary for the magic Krios will create?”

She nodded.

“It’s a necessary grimoire for experiments related to ancient beings. It’s used to lower the risk itself.”

“Alright. Then there’s no helping it. Let’s go in.”

Sererassie’s eyes widened, her lips trembled, and she gulped.

“Brother. You’re really taking me to my doom. Well, let’s go!”

I marched forward, kicking aside the magicians blocking my path.

“I am Crown Prince Valenccius! Everyone, clear the way!”

The two elder magicians looked pleased upon seeing me.

“Your Highness!”

In the middle of the wide, white corridor, a partition was halfway down, blocking the path, and beyond it, a dark aura seeped out.

Kikikikikik!

An ominous laughter echoed, implying that things had gone horribly wrong.

How was I supposed to handle this?

I already felt overwhelmed.

I took a deep breath and spoke to the magicians.

“I’ll go in and seal the passage!”

The magicians immediately nodded.

“How did it happen that no one even pretended to try to stop this?”

I burst out in frustration, and Sererassie chuckled.

“What do you expect from us? Let’s go.”

“Wait! Senior. I want to go too.”

Niar grabbed Sererassie’s sleeve.

Tap.

Sererassie immediately shook off her hand.

“I have no intention of placing my life in your hands.”

At that moment, footsteps echoed from beyond the partition, and green liquid sprayed out beneath the half-lowered passage.

Chiiiing!

“Wall of the Earth!”

Niar swung her white wooden staff, causing the Ivory Tower’s floor to rise like a wall, fending off the liquid in an instant.

Bubbling!

A slab of marble a hand’s width began to dissolve.

Niar looked at Sererassie.

“Is that not good?”

Sererassie smiled mischievously.

“I’ll grant you the honor of leading.”

I rolled my eyes as I placed Niar behind me.

“Have you ever seen such a foolish senior?”

* * *

A soft darkness enveloped the wide corridor of the Ivory Tower.

It was due to all the magic tool lamps being extinguished.

“It’s chilly. Yet strangely warm.”

“It’s due to the aura of the ancient. Stay sharp. If you succumb to corruption, you’ll be left behind.”

Sererassie and Niar exchanged endearing words behind me.

“Niar. Do you know where the copy is?”

“It’s the door at the end of the right corridor if we go straight ahead.”

“…It doesn’t feel like the Ivory Tower was this vast.”

Numerous rooms lined the long corridor, with a crossroads every few rooms.

From the crossroads, something suddenly bolted out.

“Squeak!”

Niar shouted.

“It’s a lab rat.”

Sererassie let out a fake laugh.

“Is that…?”

The rat was slightly larger than a buffalo, with more than twenty heads, wielding a whip-like tail and spewing green fluid from its mouth.

“Squeak squeak!”

“Squeak squeak!”

About a dozen such rats rushed at us.

Tatata!

Sererassie panicked and struck her staff against the floor.

“Chain Lightning!”

A yellow gem sparkled with blue light.

Zap!

The lightning branched out like twigs, tearing through the rats.

“Squeak!?”

The rats trembled and rolled on the ground, only to rise and charge again.

Tatata!

“What kind of resistance is that—!”

Sererassie panicked and swung her staff once more, a flash of electricity bursting so bright it nearly blinded me.

Flash!

This time, the rats hit the floor hard.

However, I could sense this was just the beginning.

“Ugh, eheheheh. Everyone, behold! I’ve created the perfect lifeform!”

A magician stepped out from one side of the corridor.

His eyes were glazed over, tentacles sprouted across his body, and one particularly thick tentacle rose dramatically from the crown of his head.

“Oho! Yes. You recognize this value. Feel free to behold it!”

“Insanity.”

The laboratory door swung open, revealing dozens of gleaming red eyes.

“Squeak!”

This time, the rat was still a rat, but now it was covered in thick tentacles.

Wriggle wriggle!

Tatata!

Wriggle wriggle!

Rats ran forward, tentacles undulating, creating a grotesque ripple.

It was enough to make me dizzy.

Niar bit her lower lip.

“Your Highness. The head….”

“He’s using mental waves like that.”

I absorbed invisible gauntlets from my left hand, summoning Az’s power.

Rumble—!

Cracks formed on my hand like pottery, and the space between them glowed a fierce red.

Boom!

In the next moment, a red ripple surged forward.

Bang!

The magician and the tentacle rats hit the ground together, and moments later, they ignited from within.

Sererassie and Niar stared at me with astonished expressions.

Ah, this is going to be a hassle.

“Valen. What was that?”

“Your Highness. What was that just now…?”

I grinned, placing a finger over my lips.

“Shh. It’s our little secret.”

Niar wore an expression that showed she wouldn’t keep any secrets.

It felt like she might cast a spell on my back.

At that moment, Sererassie zapped me in the side with electricity.

Zap!

“Do you really feel like joking around in such a dangerous place?”

“If I didn’t joke around, I thought I would lose my mind.”

“….”

Niar softened her gaze as she witnessed her senior’s usual reaction.

Sererassie winked at Niar from an angle she couldn’t see.

“Impressive. You’ve learned to pick up on cues. Truly, you’re a genius, sister.”

“I wonder why I feel like I’ve been complimented but also insulted.”

“What are you talking about that doesn’t include me?”

“There are times when being unaware is beneficial.”

“Magicians don’t believe in that.”

Tatata!

“They’re coming back.”

“Ready!”

“I’m ready too.”

I infused a magic sword with a fiery wind to create a flame blade, Sererassie cast her protective barrier, and Niar took out a potion.

The path to the room at the end of the right corridor was long and treacherous.

Tatata!

Rats, tentacle rats, and tentacle hunting dogs were targeting us.

“I have seen the truth!”

“I must tell everyone of this!”

“I did it!”

Magicians, blackened and emaciated like mummies, were casting spells as if they were in their prime.

Whoosh!

A purple fireball shot up.

Chiiiing!

A cloud of poisonous mist settled.

Rumble!

All kinds of curses were hurled toward us.

Boom!

I raised dragon scales to cast off all the curses and swung the fire tornado to behead the emaciated magicians, laughing at their choices.

“Did you dedicate your existence for such petty power!”

Sererassie and Niar unleashed spells without mercy.

“In the end, you’ve crossed over. Then we are not siblings but enemies.”

“Rest for the weary comrades.”

Even Niar, who had likely not experienced much actual combat, showed no hesitation using magic against her former friends.

“Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. But—”

“But?”

“Those kinds of beings tarnish the reputation of the Ivory Tower. And showing you my anger like this might make you think, ‘Hmm. Not all magicians disregard social order for knowledge.'”

Madness glimmered in her cream-colored eyes.

“Sigh.”

I grabbed the doorknob, smiling contentedly.

“Sure. Let’s keep the illusion going. Shall we go in?”

* * *

The room was spacious, with dozens of tables lined with experimental mechanisms, and dimly lit.

Neither hunting dogs nor rats were in sight.

Niar frowned.

“It’s too dark.”

“What’s the problem with that? The way here was….”

“This room is supposed to have windows.”

“….”

Outside the vast glass windows, nothing was visible.

There were a few shining dots, resembling a night sky.

“Brother. That must be it.”

Sererassie pointed to a book resting on the table by the window.

It was adorned as if it were a grimoire, sealed with a brass lock.

“I’ll go get it.”

Niar stepped forward, and I raised my left hand.

“No. There’s someone there.”

Aiming the flame-wreathed tornado forward, a magician sitting at the edge of the table revealed himself.

“I knew you would come, Sererassie.”

His voice was vibrant and alive.

However, like others corrupted, he looked blackened and dried, wearing the same lavish robes he had in life, topped with a wide-brimmed hat.

The only difference from other corrupted magicians was that he had four arms.

Sererassie frowned at him.

“I don’t know about defeated losers.”

“Do you think I’ve been defeated? I have discovered the truth.”

His voice cracked slightly.

“Now I will show you….”

Before he could finish, Niar swung her staff.

“Electrocution of Burning Pain, Thorn Wheel!”

As the long incantation was uttered, the magic was unleashed.

Clang!

Thick iron chains glowing red shot out, binding the corrupt magician’s shriveled body tightly.

“Ugh!”

Zing!

The chain was laced with an impressive level of fire magic, and sparks danced between the sturdy thorns.

Whoosh!

Krack!

Sizzle!

The chain spun rapidly, scorching and grinding the corrupted magician’s body while tightening its grip.

“You have no right to speak. The shame of a magician!”

Niar shot back, brandishing her staff.

Clank!

The chains tightened even more, and the corrupted magician writhed in pain.

“Ughhhh, ugh, heeheehee!”

Yet, shortly after, his groans transformed into laughter.

His eyes glinted with a purplish glow as he glared at us.

“You too shall see what I have seen. Then you will understand me. Hehehe!”

Niar slammed her staff down.

Bam!

Simultaneously, the chains fully constricted, and the corrupted magician burst apart in all directions.

Bang!

“You could have gone further.”

“Hmph. So, he was just that level of a foe.”

Sererassie clicked her tongue in disappointment, and Niar moved towards the grimoire.

Crack, crack!

At that moment, a thick crack ran across the glass window.

“Wait….”

Boom!

It shattered loudly.

Swoosh—!

An irresistible suction pulled us toward the window.

“Ahhhh!”

“Brother!”

“What the hell—!”

I cursed as I grabbed Sererassie and Niar.