Chapter 154: The Dethroned Prince (6)
“Hehe.”
The woman humd a tune.
She was watching with a pleased expression as the seeds sprouted on the hearts.
‘Curse.’
Bahav had said that the woman's goal was the curse.
That she had been monitoring Bahav, upon whom the curse was engraved.
Where does a curse co from?
To borrow the words of the Otherworld, a curse cos from Han.
‘They say Han begins in the heart.’
The heart is life.
Life begins from the earth.
All kinds of life are born on the earth, and their traces remain on the earth.
“4th Rank of the Tower of Earthquakes, Loisia of the Dancing Trees.”
The woman, Loisia, smiled like a flower.
‘Earthquakes.’
Earthquake was the most imnse Origin produced by the Magic Tower that pursued the earth.
Just like the Mage of Curse.
As expected, Loisia belonged to the Tower of Earthquakes.
“Did you say 3rd Rank?”
“That’s right.”
Harad lowered himself.
It wasn't entirely wrong.
The aftereffects still remained. To implent Crimson Flas, I needed to use the Moon Orb.
“Right? I thought it felt warm for so reason. Your Origin must be extraordinary.”
“It is on that side.”
“Aren't you going to introduce yourself?”
Was I caught?
‘I don’t think so.’
If so, her reaction wouldn't be this lukewarm.
“To be honest, it’s burdenso.”
Revealing one's Rank or Origin in the Otherworld was basic etiquette.
But there were bound to be exceptions.
The Red Tower was one of them.
“I understand, fire is precious. This isn't Paradise either.”
Indeed, Loisia understood.
The Red Tower, which didn't have many Mages, needed to be cautious.
Even more so on the continent.
According to the prophecy, the Red Tower bears the great task of finding the King.
“But wouldn’t it be okay between us?”
“Isn't this our first ti eting?”
“I am Earthquakes. And you are Red Tower.”
“I know that well. But honestly, you just look like a hyena to my eyes.”
“Because of the pros and cons regarding the long-cherished desire?”
Harad nodded.
Long-cherished desire. The Red Tower opposes the conquest of the continent.
They would be in clear opposition to the Tower of Earthquakes, which agrees with the conquest.
“I understand that too, but hearing you say it like that hurts my feelings. Have you already forgotten the past? Strictly speaking, you were the ones who turned your backs first.”
Loisia suddenly acted wistful.
Bahav, who was next to , narrowed his eyes.
It was a misunderstanding.
This was my first eting with Loisia. The past she spoke of was the relationship between the Red Tower and the Tower of Earthquakes.
“We are unchanged. We still love fire. Because warmth is essential for the earth and the life upon it.”
“Hmm.”
“As proof, didn’t we accommodate your will as much as possible? Although it went wrong in the end.”
“That was so.”
Harad nodded with a heavy face.
‘It’s the opposite of the Deep Sea.’
The Tower of Earthquakes is friendly to the Red Tower.
It seed they had a good relationship in the past.
‘Did the relationship sour because of the Red Tower’s stubbornness?’
The Red Tower also agrees with the long-cherished desire itself.
But they are just delaying it because they want their King to achieve it.
In that process, they must have had friction with the Tower of Earthquakes as well.
‘They are friendly, but not as close as with the Moon Tower.’
I couldn't expect anything special.
The earth and life also needed water.
The gentle Tower of Earthquakes must have good relationships all around.
“Even so, we understand? We even help the big and small embers searching for the prophecy. Because Paradise needs the Sun.”
Loisia’s words had a double aning.
‘Does she an they need the real Sun? Or the Origin?’
It sounded as if the Origin called Sun could solve the sunless sky of the Otherworld.
‘Or perhaps it was like that in the past.’
I recalled Grand Duke Aratus from my past life.
The North is getting colder and colder.
As a solution, Grand Duke Aratus dragged Harad as a hostage…….
“I am Harad of the Wildfire.”
“So that’s why you’re warm even normally?”
Loisia smiled welcomingly.
She was surprisingly favorable. It was the complete opposite of Avery Aquins.
It must be the stance of the Tower of Earthquakes.
‘That bitch wasn’t, though.’
Harad recalled the Mage of Curse he t on the battlefield in his past life.
That bitch also belonged to the Tower of Earthquakes. But she was blatantly hostile.
‘Indeed. It wouldn’t have mattered anymore by then.’
With the conquest of the continent imminent, fire would have been aningless to the Otherworld.
Unlike the Otherworld, the sun is always up wherever you go on the continent.
‘But now it is needed.’
The Tower of Earthquakes agrees with the long-cherished desire.
But at the sa ti, they need the Red Tower.
That is why the Otherworld hasn't set out for conquest yet.
“Were there any results?”
“For now, only the fire that burned the Watchtower.”
“Ah! I heard about that recently. You said it was at the boundary?”
“I heard so too. Not long ago.”
Not long ago.
Harad’s eyes glead.
“We are estimating it is the Star.”
“Right. I heard that too. They said she damaged the Ivory. It’s causing a commotion.”
Aroshu of the Bonfire and Avery Aquins, the Star of the Deep Sea, were dead.
But Loisia seed to only know about Psina’s death.
‘Information is slow.’
The Otherworld and the continent are far apart.
To communicate smoothly, they first needed to infiltrate the stepping stone called the North.
‘Is it because the tunnels are blocked?’
The tunnels were blocked.
Of course, there might still be so Otherworld Mages who infiltrated the North, but since the tunnels were blocked, communication would have to take a detour.
‘There is a limit to the distance of the Communication Sphere.’
There are constraints on the information transmitted.
It was the worth of regression. Thanks to us occupying the tunnels, the Otherworld's activities have slowed down.
“What on earth is the Red Star thinking. Why hasn't she co to Paradise yet? What do you think?”
Loisia was friendly even to the Star who killed Psina.
Must be because she is fire.
The Ivory’s low standing might also play a part.
“I think it’s because of Psina, whom the Star killed.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t think the Star attacked first. She is a Star, after all. The Ivory side must have committed a fault first.”
Loisia touched the tip of her nose.
“The Star is probably being cautious. Thinking that other towers might target her, not just the Ivory.”
“That might be true. Since there are more Mages who consider the Red Tower an eyesore.”
Loisia frowned and beca serious.
She seed to want a Star to appear in the Red Tower.
“Don’t worry too much. The Red Tower has sent a reception party. The Star will enter Paradise soon.”
“Who?”
“It is Lord Aroshu of the Bonfire.”
“If it’s Aroshu, it must be certain.”
Loisia relaxed her expression.
Aroshu seed to be quite a big shot as well.
“It was a valuable ti after a long while.”
“ too. It’s even nicer to et like this in a distant land. And a Red Tower at that.”
Loisia smiled brightly like a child.
“Will you step aside now?”
“Hmm?”
“Or will you kill him for ?”
Loisia pointed at Bahav.
Beside her, four trees had finished growing.
“That would be better. Warmly, I an. Even the continent's winter is surprisingly cold.”
* * *
Four trees rooted in the hearts of Mages.
Although called trees, their forms were close to human.
When I left the boundary with the 3rd Knights Commander Kalinos, I had encountered a Magical Beast similar to that.
A Magical Beast that observed knights with eyes grown instead of leaves and mimicked them with its roots.
‘It’s sorry to compare.’
Magical Energy could be felt from each of the four human-resembling trees.
Those were Loisia’s Magic and Mages.
‘Cautious.’
Loisia hadn’t just been talking.
She was waiting for the Magic sprouted in the hearts to be completed.
‘Because she didn’t trust ? It was a aningful ti for that.’
Every piece of information gained was useful.
Loisia spoke of such things without hesitation.
Impossible unless she considered an ally.
‘Bahav might run away. She must have assud that.’
But Bahav didn't run away.
In his eyes, Harad would now look like a perfect Otherworld Mage.
‘This too must be because of the curse.’
Bahav Enverque was a human who only believed what he experienced.
Loisia had been monitoring him and ca targeting the curse.
On the other hand, Harad burned that curse and ruined it.
For Bahav, even if he suspected Harad’s identity, there was no reason to be hostile.
Of course, if I attacked, it would be a different story, but at least for now, it was so.
“But is it okay? Magic must be dangerous.”
“The north of the capital is sowhat okay. It’s abandoned land. You know too, don't you? The Enverque doesn't look at low places.”
The incompetence of the Imperial Family seed famous even in the Otherworld.
“And it can’t be helped. Because it’s that important.”
“Instead of Magic, what about blades? Like killing him secretly while he sleeps.”
“All failed. You didn't know yet? He isn’t crazy, you know?”
Bahav seed to have had friction with Loisia a few tis already.
No matter how excellent the acting, one cannot fake death.
“Not crazy? No way!”
Harad looked back at Bahav, pretending to be surprised.
Bahav greeted him with cold eyes.
“Will you step aside now, or kill him?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”
Loisia’s eyebrows twitched.
“Harad of the Wildfire. That would be troubleso.”
“It is troubleso for too, especially if this friend isn't crazy.”
“Why?”
“This friend might know our King.”
Loisia’s eyes widened.
Her gaze turned to Bahav.
“I know the King of Fire!”
Bahav shouted imdiately.
Indeed, a smartly arrogant Enverque.
“Still no. That heart must be retrieved.”
Loisia pointed at Bahav’s heart.
What needed to be retrieved wasn't the heart, but the curse engraved on the heart.
“Why?”
“Our Tower’s Sage is dwelling in it.”
Sage.
A term referring to a 6th Rank Mage.
‘It wasn't a simple curse.’
The curse had another role.
‘Cast a curse according to the words of the Church or the Emperor. The Otherworld retrieves that curse.’
A Sage is dwelling in it.
Loisia said so.
‘One doesn't speak of Magic like that.’
It sounded like gathering curses makes a Sage.
It must be related to the escape.
‘In the past life, the Mage of Curse was in the Otherworld, not the Prohibition of the Church.’
If I protect Bahav, that location might change.
Even if not, I had to protect Bahav.
He was a seed I had sown in the Empire after a long ti.
“I’ve said all I can. If you don’t cooperate, I have no choice but to kill you.”
“Between us?”
“I also find the Red Tower’s position regrettable. But a Star has appeared, hasn’t she? Focus on that rather than searching for the prophecy.”
“Ultimately, what’s important is the prophecy.”
“So, ask the Star. Doesn't the Star point to the King?”
Loisia treated the Star as a compass.
Harad tilted his head.
It was a mistake.
“If there is no King, a Star isn't born eith…… You don’t know?”
The four tree humans exhaled breath toward each other.
Their leaves danced in that breath. Harad’s eyes, eting that sight, wavered.
“Why don’t you know?”
The world beca dizzy. The sky beca the earth, and the earth beca the sky. In between, Harad’s body staggered as if dancing.
Branches that had consud their leaves crossed the inverted world like spears and whips.
His hand was in his pocket, holding the Moon Orb. His whole body felt cool. Magic should be used cautiously. It wasn't the ti to think like that.
Harad set fire to everything visible for now. Fire erupting from the sky and earth burned the branches that had just arrived. It looked just like a wildfire had broken out.
“Fuck!”
Bahav, who was next to , escaped in fright.
His whole body was scorched, and his disheveled hair curled up as it cooked.
That scene didn't waver in Harad's eyes. The dance was undone. Whether it was thanks to the Moon Orb or the influence of the fire, there was no ti to think.
“Bahav.”
I intended to give him a spear.
“Set fire to your heart's content!”
But Bahav scread loudly.
“I said it’s okay!”
Using Magic is allowed.
Bahav had said so from the beginning.
Harad decided to believe those words.
There was also annoyance. Loisia, who ca from the Otherworld, was acting so willfully.
‘Why should I hold back.’
Eyes resembling the sunset were dyed jet-black.
At the sa ti, the four tree humans clumped together and were being dyed black.
A wind rose. That solar wind shook the projection of the dancing trees. Crimson Flas starting from the ground climbed up the half-blackened tree.
“Cough.”
Loisia, who was sweating, coughed up blood.
One hand went into her dress pocket.
The tree, whose projection failed, writhed.
Dozens of leafless branches swept the surroundings like brooms.
Fire obscures vision.
Harad threw Bahav, who was watching the fire play like a child.
“Fuck?”
Suddenly swept away by the tree's sweeping, Bahav swung the spears of fire implented in both hands.
At that mont, Loisia took her hand out of her pocket.
Two fingers were holding sothing.
‘Key?’
Loisia is a cautious Mage.
She must have thought of escape as soon as the projection failed.
Harad intuitively sensed that the key was a ans of escape.
Trusting that, Loisia had openly implented Magic.
Loisia turned her wrist.
She inserted the key into the empty air as if opening a door and turned it.
Harad was slightly faster than that.
Just before the key turned at a right angle, Crimson Flas lted Loisia’s wrist. The hand holding the key fell to the ground.
“Aaaah!”
Loisia scread.
It was quite pretentious. She quickly fell and picked up the key with her remaining hand. Crimson Flas lted that wrist. The wrist stretched thickly and dropped the hand.
“Wi, Wildfire.”
Loisia, who was kicking off her high heels, looked up at Harad.
She had a face that foresaw that if she picked up the key with her foot, her foot would also catch fire.
“Do I still seem like Wildfire to you?”
“……”
“Actually, it is correct. I am Wildfire of the Red Tower.”
“Ye, yes. I know.”
Loisia nodded hurriedly.
It was a face that clearly didn't believe it.
“Oh my. You don't believe .”
Harad smiled bitterly.
Whenever things seed to go well, I always got caught on one thing and was discovered.
“I learned a lot thanks to you.”
However, the harvest was plentiful.
A Star is born only when there is a Sun, and points to the Sun like a compass.
To prevent the escape of the Mage of Curse, I must save Bahav.
“It was a valuable ti.”
“Sa, save . Think of our relationship. Fire and Earth, Life, fellow Mages……”
Loisia gibbered.
“That is why I can't. Our relationship.”
Loisia couldn't say more.
Before she knew it, Crimson Flas were lting her.
“Harad! You son of a bitch Brains!”
Bahav, who had beco covered in soot, ran over brightly and raised his hand.
“What?”
“High five!”
“……”
Instead of answering, Harad scanned the surroundings.
Under the underpass was a total ss. The flas were extinguished, but the traces swept by the fire demon were far too vivid.
It was a minor problem.
If I raised my gaze just a little, passersby were looking this way. Everyone was a witness to Magic.
The atmosphere was very unusual.
Since there were so many people, I couldn't gauge their levels individually, but all of them were holding blades.
“I set fire as you said. What will you do now?”
“Brains Harad. You are surprisingly timid.”
Bahav spoke like Elaine from the past life.
Harad frowned.
“I am not timid, but cautious.”
“Wrong! Caution is a word used for .”
Bahav raised his gaze.
And shouted.
“You bastards! Cover it up!”
“Yes!”
Suddenly, the witnesses jumped down under the underpass and dug up dirt from afar.
Then they poured dirt on every scorched spot and packed it down with their feet.
“I told you, you can use it as much as you want.”
Bahav giggled like a madman.
But Harad could no longer see him as a madman.
‘Half-mad.’
Elaine's impression from the past life was wrong.
Elaine was also fooled.
Bahav Enverque was not even half-mad.
“This place is my little empire.”
The north of the capital.
Bahav had already seized this land abandoned by the Imperial Family.
“You aren't mad.”
“No! I am a madman!”
A truly madman doesn't call himself a madman.
“I am craaaaazy!”
Or maybe a madman doesn't even know he's a madman and is pretending to be one.
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