According to the principles of the magic circle, the meticulously arranged magic bombs were designed to utilize mana conduits as lines to create an even more powerful explosion. Ortes was astonished upon seeing the mana conduits for this very reason.
The moment the magic bombs received the detonation signal, the mana conduits became part of the explosive magic. The infrastructure spread throughout the city had been cleverly edited into a single magic circle.
Ortes was horrified by this insane idea but what could he do?
Holding back one’s ultimate move until the very end. Turning the opponent’s cards against them. Carisia had learned all of this from Ortes.
Ortes began to suspect whether even the original Baegmun would grow weary if they saw Carisia’s explosive instincts.
Then he closed his eyes—not out of despair. Carisia had indeed created a more powerful explosion, but it hadn’t resulted in a larger one.
The purpose of using the mana conduits to draw the magic circle was to ensure that the explosive force wouldn’t be wasted and would instead focus on a single point. Thanks to this, Ortes managed to use all his strength in his eyes and legs to distance himself from the epicenter of the explosion.
The focal point of the explosive force was the Amimone Magic Tower. From the fragment of the magic circle he’d read, Ortes deduced the entire layout. The center of the hexagram-shaped arrangement of magic bombs was none other than the Amimone Magic Tower.
All the destruction the magic bombs would unleash would concentrate on the Amimone Magic Tower. Ortes wondered if even the foundation stones or any trace of the tower would remain. As he began to ponder this,
A flash of light.
It was a luminosity so intense that an ordinary human retina would have been instantly blinded. Even with his eyes closed, his vision turned stark white.
Ortes had closed his eyes not just to protect them from blindness but also because the information density of the magic Carisia had painstakingly designed wasn’t something that would damage the eyes—it would directly assault the brain.
Closing his eyes was Ortes’ best option to cut off the influx of information.
On the ground, the heat and light concentrated on the magic tower reached underground. The material at the center where the tower once stood evaporated instantly. Substances disintegrated into units smaller than matter itself, transforming into brilliant shards of light.
The parasitic entity was bewildered. No incantation had been cast.
No, it wasn’t just about casting spells. Mana continued to gather there, and the preparation phase hadn’t even concluded yet.
“How—”
“How did I use magic?” Carisia laughed cruelly, her smile filled with mockery, disdain, and the exhilaration of having completely crushed her opponent.
“You idiot. I set it off three minutes ago.”
A colossal pillar of light formed, capable of warping space itself. The catastrophic reintegration of fragmented space sealed its lethal nature.
A beam of light large enough to engulf the entire building of the Amimone Magic Tower vaporized the parasite’s body, both physical and divine.
The violent light obliterated even screams—a blinding white light that could leave anyone sightless.
Using the moment when the white light obscured everyone’s vision, Carisia concealed herself again. There was no longer any need to concern herself with the dead. She intended to find Ortes.
“How’s your body?”
“It feels wobbly.”
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was hair whiter than the flash of light moments before. I forced a bitter smile as I responded.
“Chairman, were you planning to k*ll me?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I double-checked.”
“Double-checked?”
Carisia pulled out Phobos’ crystal from her bosom.
“If you were in danger, it would’ve shown you illusions. But even though I planned to detonate it, nothing happened.”
“Ha, d*mn. You’re ruthless.”
Not because of some intricate design that prevented the blast from reaching underground, but rather because the instant d*ath detection device didn’t activate, implying I wouldn’t d*e. It was hard to argue against such logic given the knowledge of its capabilities.
“That thing doesn’t always work properly.”
I tried recalling the descriptions from the original story. Forces beyond the power of relics—beings akin to gods—couldn’t be fully foreseen. In the original, the Wizard King himself was a ‘god-like being,’ so there weren’t any issues.
“Come to think of it, didn’t Carisia ever witness a scene where I fought several elders?”
Apparently, she could foresee even the worst possible opponents like the Ten Towers’ elders, which was fortunate.
“Is that so? We’ll discuss it in more detail when we return. I need to refer to it.”
I heard the sound of a report getting longer. I took hold of Carisia’s extended hand and stood up.
*
What remained of the Amimone Magic Tower…
Absolutely nothing.
Nothing at all. Not even the foundation stones—everything, including the magic core, had evaporated. The heart of the tower was gone.
And as for whether any remnants of the outer structure remained, they didn’t either. All that was left were the Amimone Magic Tower’s splinter factions.
You might say it was like a patient who’d died leaving behind only the organs they had donated. If Cnemon ascended to the position of Tower Master, he might be able to reunite the splinter factions and rebuild the tower.
But with the magic core gone, inheriting the status of a Proper Tower would be impossible.
“Chairman, how do you plan to handle this explosion?”
“We’ll pin it on Argeyirion.”
There was an infiltrator from Argeyirion during the Tower Master selection battle, and their plot to take over the master’s seat was thwarted. However, due to a s*icide attack by Argeyirion operatives, the magic core ended up destroyed.
This scenario seemed plausible enough compared to the truth—that Carisia had blown up the Amimone Magic Tower with bombs.
If the truth came out, Panoptes wouldn’t be the problem. The Ten Sages would come after us with a vengeance.
“What might happen if we blame Argeyirion for this?”
Argeyirion had already crossed the line set by the Ten Towers. With the addition of the complete annihilation of a Proper Tower, it was highly likely the Ten Towers would abandon all pretense of honor or dignity.
“A war will break out. Based on the spatial teleportation used by the Argeyirion agents in their recent invasion and the spatial magic used by the parasite to connect to another dimension, they’ll likely attempt to locate Argeyirion’s main base.”
“Twice. Theoretically, detecting spatial coordinates is possible, but the manpower required would be astronomical. Even with support from the Ten Sages, it would become a monumental task requiring the full mobilization of the Ten Towers…”
The moment the coordinate calculation is completed, the Ten Towers will launch a counter-invasion of Argeyirion’s headquarters. A situation where even the Tower Masters personally lead the charge isn’t unimaginable.
I reviewed all the deeds committed—or allegedly committed—by Argeyirion thus far.
The full-scale declaration of war in Elysion. Disrupting the magical society by subverting magic towers. Assassinating members of the Ten Sages. And now, following the betrayal of the Proper Tower Master, destroying the Amimone Magic Tower with the mindset of ‘if I can’t have it, neither can you.’
More than enough to push the Ten Towers to their limit.
Strangely, half of these seem like my doing, but honestly, there was at least one Argeyirion agent present at each site.
Without the angelic Argeyirion agents at the Pluto Temple, I wouldn’t have fared as well against Daro.
While the Amimone Tower Master wasn’t collaborating with Argeyirion, it’s true that there were traitors from the Amimone Magic Tower.
Also, the psychic parasite had already shattered the tower before Carisia erased it entirely.
…Wait. That last one isn’t my responsibility no matter how you look at it.
I stared at Carisia. Sensing my gaze, she subtly lifted the corners of her mouth.
“Seems like we’re nearing the final stages of the plan, huh?”
No, I wasn’t feeling any sense of satisfaction or joy. But I couldn’t help myself—I’m just a natural-born office worker. My mouth automatically started flattering my superior.
“The progress is much faster than expected. If the Tower Master happens to be absent, we may be able to initiate the final phase of the plan much sooner.”
The time remaining until the predicted return of the Wizard King was roughly three years. I anticipated that we’d only be able to bring down Baegwang after the war between the Ten Towers and the Wizard King began.
If the Ten Towers act as expected this time too…
“…The times ahead will be tumultuous.”
“Yes. Whether we should use this turmoil to activate the final plan or wait a little longer requires further deliberation.”
Carisia remembered my prophecy about the Wizard King’s return.
If the Baegwang Tower Master joins the expedition against Argeyirion and the Ten Sages succeed in destroying Baegwang, the Baegwang Magic Tower will undoubtedly fall.
But can the Ten Towers, having lost one of their own, still stand against the Wizard King?
That was the question we, amidst the tumultuous era, needed to answer.
