Sererassie did not believe that one’s true nature revealed itself in moments of crisis.
Every living being has an instinct to protect themselves from external and internal threats.
She thought that a person’s nature rather emerged more clearly in everyday situations.
“When two similar people are present, whose theft deserves more condemnation: the one who has gone three days without food or the one who has only missed one meal?”
The Ivory Tower taught its students enough moral common sense to mimic the society outside when they might one day step beyond its walls.
“There’s no need to understand. Just memorize and follow.”
She was confident in her ability to memorize, and that allowed Sererassie to wander outside for a year without causing a massacre-level incident.
Thus, Sererassie calmly gazed at the chaos before her.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“Evacuate, residents, evacuate!”
The constables were shrieking in high-pitched voices.
“Lord Valen! You must escape! Don’t die!”
Rudi was pulling Duke Valenciaunos along.
“If you don’t stop right now, I will cut off your head.”
Trentia aimed her sword at the neck of the infiltrator boy.
The infiltrator boy responded in a venomous tone.
“Who was it that forced my mouth open?”
Sererassie approached and struck the boy on the back of the head with the metal tip of her staff.
Crack.
Her strength wasn’t enough to knock him out, but she could cause him pain.
“Hey!”
“I just wanted to hit you once.”
“What…?”
“Are you daring to widen your eyes in front of me?”
The infiltrator boy wanted to ask if she could open her eyes in the shape of a triangle, but Sererassie hit the back of his head again.
“It’s not working, is it? I guess I need to use strength-enhancing magic…”
Whack!
Trentia struck the boy’s nape with the edge of her hand, and he slumped down.
“Is this what you wanted?”
Sererassie nodded.
“Yes. Reducing variables is the most important thing, right?”
“Yes?”
Sererassie narrowed her eyes, feeling the aura of green flames spreading from all over the city.
She distorted her prideful face and spoke.
“When the caster disappears, the mana scatters and runs amok. There’s a bit of time. If I move quickly, I might be able to dispel one or two of them, right?”
She was a mage who did not falter even when the entire sky was covered with the rolling thunder of the magical realms.
“Still, there are five left—.”
“Isn’t it better than all seven exploding?”
Trentia nodded without hesitation.
“It’s sad that we can’t save everyone, but that’s not a reason to not do our best, Your Highness. I will serve you.”
Valenciaunos comforted Rudi, who was clinging to him in tears, and joined in.
“If we’re lucky, we might be able to save everyone.”
Sererassie squinted her eyes and asked.
Even if she turned her body into lightning with the flash teleportation spell and flew through the sky, there wouldn’t be enough time to circle around seven locations, and more importantly, she wouldn’t have enough mana left to cast a dispel.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s fire for now. With the ‘Flame that Rises Up’ spell, we can interfere. When we fought below earlier, we blocked or stole flames from each other.”
Valenciaunos frowned.
“I’ll gather them all here; sister, you dispel them in one go.”
“It won’t be easy….”
Sererassie bit her lip, and Valenciaunos took out a red potion from his pocket and drank it.
“…Originally, even if a mental wave or explosion occurred, it wouldn’t have a great effect on the loyalty oath. I had made preparations in case I couldn’t catch them. I was planning to choose a low-ranking noble connected with the infiltrators and pin everything on them or release an article claiming that the infiltrators wished for the empire’s division. I’ve already sent the manuscript to the newspaper.”
Rudi, who sent that, gulped.
Sererassie asked with a solemn expression.
“Does that mean it’s not happening now?”
“That guy. Anyone can see he’s part of the royal family.”
At that moment, the face of the genius mage hardened.
The reason he had to die for inheriting talent through blood was standing right before him.
“Does that mean the royal family’s responsibility is greater?”
“Correct. You’re quite clever.”
“That’s how it was, little brother.”
Valenciaunos looked around and commanded.
“Constables, evacuate as many residents as possible.”
The constables steeled their determination and prepared to fulfill their duty.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Understood!”
“Lady Trentia, take the infiltrator securely to the Imperial Magic Guild. …If there’s an attack, prioritize your safety over transporting this one.”
The knight and maid placed their clenched right hands against their hearts.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Yes, Lord Valen.”
“Sister. Let’s go down together. I’ll gather everyone, so dispel it for me.”
The genius mage elegantly leaned forward, gripping her staff with one hand and the hem of her robe with the other.
“Alright, little brother. We don’t know if a massive explosion will occur or if nothing will happen, but let’s try it. Attempting is the right and duty of a genius.”
Valenciaunos headed toward the center of the seven explosive magics, guided by Sererassie.
“Isn’t it better to draw from the closest one?”
“Here?”
“Yes. Right here.”
The magic seemed to begin overflowing, as a piercing but warm heat and a faint green light flickered in the distance.
The constables were likely to start receiving reports of smoke rising from the sewers.
Valenciaunos halted to lift the energy of the incantation and mana, chanting the spell.
“Flame that Rises Up.”
Shaaaan—
His pupils split vertically, both hands becoming covered in dark-red scales, with scales rising to his neck.
Magic that governs something is more effective the closer it is visually.
If someone were to move even a little farther away, they often wouldn’t exhibit at all and even if they managed to manifest, the efficiency would drop dramatically like water sinking deep in the ocean.
In such a scenario, drawing the explosive magic planted throughout the sprawling capital at the moment it was about to explode was something an ordinary mage would hardly even conceive of before attempting.
‘After this, I’ll meet Seberik. The central region is originally in the palm of the royal family. Once negotiations in the eastern and northern regions conclude, three-fifths of the empire will stabilize. Then, the western and southern regions will naturally have to bow their heads too.’
However, for Valenciaunos, even this miracle was merely part of the process, not the goal.
‘I will hand a united empire over to Jeilliris. That will bring peace to this world. The territorial wars will end, the infiltrators will burn, and I will lead a luxurious life as the harmless Crown Prince Valenccius!’
His will, with mana, rushed through the maze-like underground waterways.
The green flames flickered and hissed but the power inherited through blood and awakened by effort gripped the nape of that serpent and dragged it out.
Shaaaan—
The green flames spread inside the underground waterway.
‘Come.’
The rising flames converged at the corner, beginning to combine into a single stream.
From the distance, green flames surged forth.
“Sister.”
“I’m ready. Once they gather, I can dispel immediately.”
Sererassie announced confidently, her expression resolute.
Even as the immense heat blasted against her, tousling her hat, hair, and robe, she didn’t care at all.
Valenciaunos clenched his fists tightly.
Kwahhhhhhh!
The green flames surged like waves, transforming into orange and red, coalescing into a spherical form.
This was the process of bringing the exploded green flames here, coloring them with his will, and wresting control from them before once again putting them to rest.
As the pace slowed down because he had to bring the exploded flames here immediately, there could be no room for a deficiency in mana or power because he needed to dye it with his color.
“Ugh!”
Valenciaunos groaned for the first time.
The enormous ball of flames swelled as it threatened to fill the underground waterway.
The stone ceiling above began to melt under the heat, and thick steam rose from the surface below, engulfing both.
The vapor held heat of several hundred degrees.
Sererassie hastily covered her body with her cloak, and Valenciaunos gritted his teeth to endure.
“Ahhhhh!”
He began to slowly bring his hands together, his fingers tightening as he compressed the fireball that had grown to fill the waterway to the size of a person’s head, as dark-red horns rose from Valenciaunos’ head.
Crack, crackle!
However, the already overheated ceiling could no longer take the strain.
Rubble of stone, sand, gravel, and earth collapsed, and Sererassie stepped back to avoid it.
“What on earth is this commotion?”
Fortunately, a building was directly above, so debris from the collapsed structure did not fall on Valenciaunos’ head.
However, looking through the massive hole that was now blasted open, Valenciaunos thought maybe that was for the best.
Above where they had stood was right in the middle of a main street.
*
Horses screamed as they neighed, and carriages stopped, while citizens in the streets screamed.
“The ground is collapsing! Get out of the way!”
“It’s magic!”
“Look at that fireball inside!”
“Is anyone in there?”
Valenciaunos cursed immediately.
“World!”
He always considered the worst-case scenarios, and quickly turned to Sererassie.
“Get back! Even just around that corner!”
Sererassie asked back in confusion.
She didn’t understand people’s hearts.
“Why?”
“You must think I’m trying to cause this explosion! I’m almost done! If the green flames doesn’t gather anymore, just jump out and dispel it, and take me down!”
Sererassie confirmed that the massive green flames that had been converging like a giant sea serpent were now reduced to just slightly thicker than an adult’s forearm.
As she saw people gathering at the edge of the hole, she hurriedly retreated to behind the corner of the underground waterway.
The citizens who gathered at the edge of the hole beheld a horrific sight.
It was the moment the identity of the crazy mage that had instilled fear in the capital for nearly two weeks was revealed.
Duke Valenciaunos, with devilishly curved horns protruding from his head, was chanting endless spells with a determined expression.
His golden eyes were slit vertically, and the shadowy face and gaunt cheeks emanated an unequivocally harsh and cruel atmosphere.
Combined with his naturally handsome appearance, he resembled a mysterious and sinister high-ranking infiltrator performing a terrifying ritual.
“The green flames….”
Someone murmured.
Everyone saw Valenciaunos ‘gathering’ the green flames.
In an instant, broken brick fragments started to rain in like a hailstorm.
“Constables! Great Lords! Anyone, please come here!”
“Hit his head! Hit his head!”
“Run, dear!”
“Kids! Hold your mother’s hand tightly!”
“Did he do it himself? Was he the one making a mess, hiring bandits to stir things up?”
“…Why? Why in the world?”
“Did he want to exert that much control over us? The high-ranking nobles can’t have us commoners spotted on the streets?”
“Save my friend and my son! You damned bandit!”
Valenciaunos looked at the angry faces one by one.
“…I expected this.”
Because of the spirit of the armies brought by the great lords, the capital’s atmosphere had turned grim, and food prices were rising.
Although he had positioned the noblemen’s soldiers as far from the outskirts as possible, while Hadrian did his best to control the prices, it was difficult to prevent when they could only slow down the rise.
During these troubling times, the chain reaction of the mad mage’s explosion incidents was resulting in deaths, and the royal family was releasing bandits to watch over the people, so it would be strange if no grievances piled up.
He could understand why.
Whack!
A swiftly flying brick struck Valenciaunos on the temple.
Yet rather than stagger, he narrowed his slit eyes and glared out at the people surrounding the hole.
“You bastard!”
“Over here, over here.”
“Are you trying to kill us all?”
“You rotten bastard! Bring more! Let’s bury them all.”
As stones and gravel poured down like rain, the capital’s most notorious Bandit Duke silently gathered his final focus.
Swoosh.
The last green flame slithered in from beyond the corner, entering the orange ball swelling within.
Amid jeers, accusations, and attacks, he still radiated confidence.
With a smile as brilliant as his attire, Valenciaunos murmured.
“I did it.”
Right after that, Sererassie burst forth from behind the corner.
