After Gracie’s words, which made the Tower mages deeply reflect, Nellin picked up the story again and told the rest of the adapted tale she had already spread in the Holy City.
She said that in the midst of a battle on the razor’s edge, Saintess Presia had sacrificed her own life to bring down the lich.
“At that ti, I truly felt powerless.”
Speaking in a slightly subdued voice, as if Presia had really died,she ended the story by describing the death of her comrade.
The mages at the banquet observed a mont of silence for the departed Saintess Presia.
When the story was finished, the banquet was nearing its end.
The mages who attended were eager to hurry back and continue their research.
So, as intended, drew inspiration from hearing about the lich’s magic through Nellin’s tale.
Others, after listening to Gracie, beca more interested in magic tools.
By the ti the atmosphere in the banquet hall shifted toward disbanding, Archmage Brooks Vessilja also prepared to act.
Just then.
Striding forward, Paladin Paulen approached Brooks Vessilja.
“Lord Tower Master.”
“Ah, Paladin Paulen. Perfect timing, actually, I was just about to…”
Paulen lowered his head and whispered into the Archmage’s ear.
“I have sothing to tell you about the lich’s spell that erased your beard.”
“What did you say?”
The mont the subject of his beard ca up, all the plans he had been forming to deal with the sli went blank, overwritten by thoughts of his beard.
***
After the banquet ended, Brooks Vessilja followed Nellin’s group to a designated spot.
A deserted location on the outskirts of the Tower.
“Now that we’ve arrived, tell . What is this information about the lich’s spell that erased my beard?!”
To Brooks Vessilja, it was a fragile thread of hope.
If only he could get his beard back, he could forgive everything.
The hateful lich who was already dead, and even the damned sli that had caused it all!
With that thought, Brooks Vessilja fixed his gaze on Nellin’s group.
“Before speaking about that magic, there is a truth about the lich we must tell you.”
Brooks Vessilja frowned, feeling they were stalling instead of giving him the answer at once.
“I don’t care about the lich! That magic! That vile, forbidden magic—hurry and tell …!”
“The lich’s true identity was Ventus Frail, The Sage of Magic.”
“…What?”
“We t him face to face and spoke with him. He told us who trapped him and why he beca a lich.”
“R-ridiculous! Ventus! That man died in a magical accident…”
As Brooks Vessilja tried to protest, Nellin swiftly moved behind him and kicked his legs out from under him.
Thud!
“Guh!”
Nellin twisted his arm behind his back and pinned him down with a knee.
“It was you who faked that magical accident. All because of your filthy desire to beco Tower Master.”
“Urgh…?”
(A lich was Ventus? Then how did he survive that explosion?! There hadn’t been a trace! No, more importantly… it was Ventus who erased my beard?!)
Brooks Vessilja’s mind was in chaos.
The very man he thought he had long since surpassed—his old rival, the target of his jealousy and inferiority—was the one he now truly longed to take revenge upon.
“Ventus! Ventus! Ventus! VENTUUUUUUS!”
His built-up anger and hatred swirled together with his past feelings of inferiority.
In his mind, Brooks Vessilja saw the sneering image of Ventus Frail looking down on him with scorn.
Admitting no fault of his own, thinking only of the wrongs he had suffered, he roared.
“UAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
Wooooooong!
“You bastard, stay—ugh!”
Consud by rage, Brooks Vessilja unleashed his mana with his whole body.
The shockwave of dense magical energy sent Nellin flying.
“Ventuuuuuus!”
Brooks Vessilja stood and charged at Gracie.
Because she was a descendant of the hated Ventus, Brooks Vessilja, blinded by fury, chose her as his target of vengeance.
“I won’t allow it.”
With his face twisted in rage, he lunged at Gracie.
Paulen stepped forward to intercept.
(First this one, now that one! Everyone keeps getting in my way!)
Even blinded by rage, Brooks Vessilja knew enough not to underestimate his opponent’s strength.
If the paladin devoted himself fully to defense, breaking through wouldn’t be easy.
(Then I’ll sweep away the very ground beneath him!)
He began manipulating the earth with magic, intending to fling Paulen away.
But then—
“Sq… Squishy!”
Poyong!
(Bad! I’ll punish you!)
Seeing him charge at Gracie, Squishy leapt off Def’s shoulder.
The one he had already decided to punish was now running straight for his dear friend Gracie.
And anyone could see his intent was to cause her harm.
Squishy had no intention of letting such an enemy go.
Poyong! Poyong!
He quickly moved in front of Paulen to line up his attack perfectly.
And then—
“Squishy?!”
“Sli!”
Poyoooyong!
Squishy used Bounce Tackle against Brooks Vessilja.
“Urgh!”
For an ordinary person, there would have been no chance to react—they would have taken the hit head-on from Squishy’s Bounce Tackle.
But the opponent, despite his underhanded ways, was still a mage who had risen to the position of Tower Master.
Just before Squishy tackled him, Brooks Vessilja thrust his staff forward and deployed a barrier.
Boooom!
“A damned sli dares to block ! Yes, if not for you!”
Having lost all reason, Brooks Vessilja shifted his target from Gracie to the sli that had dared to show hostility and attack him.
If he couldn’t directly strike Gracie, then at least he wanted to destroy the sli as originally planned.
When the sli was about to bounce off the magic barrier, Brooks Vessilja reached his hand out toward Squishy.
“You little pest!”
From where he had been blown away by the mana shockwave, Nellin loosed an arrow at Brooks Vessilja.
The Archmage quickly swung his staff backward and threw up another barrier.
However—
Twang!
Thunk!
“Ghhk!”
Nellin’s arrow pierced straight through the barrier and embedded itself in his shoulder.
Ordinarily, he would have faltered from the pain, but Brooks Vessilja, consud by rage, did not stop reaching for the sli.
Brooks Vessilja’s hand closed around the sli.
“Squishy!”
“What are you doing!”
“Haah!”
Godrick’s group rushed forward, and Paulen swung his sword to sever Brooks Vessilja’s wrist.
But before he could—
“I’ll erase you at least!”
Woooooong!
A magic circle appeared on the ground, and both Brooks Vessilja and the sli vanished.
Vwooom!
Paulen’s blade cut uselessly through empty air.
***
(What is this…!)
At the villa he had prepared for Presia, Troll was stunned.
Watching the banquet through the broadcast, he had been waiting to see Brooks Vessilja get punished.
Since the banquet was held at night, Presia had already gone to sleep, leaving him alone to witness how the revenge would unfold.
Of course, he hadn’t expected Brooks Vessilja to sit quietly.
But with Nellin there—and even Paladin Paulen—he thought they would neutralize him quickly.
Yet Brooks Vessilja had used the very sa magic Troll himself once employed—
The prototype of the warp spell, a magic he had used to escape the Archmage’s trap in the past.
(That magic circle on the ground—it was definitely teleportation.)
He never imagined Vessilja could use teleportation magic.
(Then just where did he teleport to?)
▶ ? What the heck?
▶ What’s going on, why’s there nothing on screen?
[Just Slam First] ▶ What trick did that human pull this ti?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ O My kin! Are you safe? O My kin!
After the teleport, both first-person and third-person views turned pitch black.
If the sli had lost consciousness, the broadcast would have automatically ended, but the black screen ant only one thing—they had moved into a dark place.
While many viewers were shocked—
▶ ? Isn’t this Troll’s lair?
So sharp-eyed viewers, accustod to seeing in the dark, guessed that Squishy had been transported to Vessilja’s location.
(What, my secret workshop?)
“Hah… hrgh! Hhh!”
(Where is this?)
Having succeeded in teleporting, Brooks Vessilja threw the sli aside and lit the place with a spell.
Poyong!
Vwoooong!
When the light flared, the truth beca clear—it was exactly as one viewer had guessed.
They were in Troll’s secret workshop.
▶ ? Why did it turn out to be Troll’s nest?
▶ Who knows?
[Thread-Lady] ▶ Still, it’s a relief they landed sowhere familiar.
(This place… looks like a workshop. Could it be where that bastard Ventus once stayed?)
For Brooks Vessilja, teleportation magic had been a gamble.
He had spent years trying to decode it and make it his own.
But the only thing he had ever managed was to activate it in its original form.
He could not modify the coordinates.
Because he had no idea what part of the formula needed altering to do so.
(No matter where this is, it’s fine. Once I deal with this sli, I can just smash my way out!)
(It’s Troll’s lair!)
anwhile, Squishy imdiately recognized the place where he had stayed for a month.
But there was no ti to feel the joy of returning.
“Die, you damned sli!”
Brooks Vessilja began his assault on Squishy.
Whooosh!
Five flaming arrows ford in the air and flew straight toward him.
Poyong! Poyong!
Darting about nimbly, Squishy evaded every last one.
(He’s fast! Stop getting in my way!)
Grinding his teeth, Brooks Vessilja unleashed more spells.
Fwoooosh!
Crackle-crackle-crack!
Zzzzap!
Arrows of fla, spears of lightning, and blades of wind flew at Squishy.
But not a single one hit its mark.
(Slow!)
After all, for an entire month, Squishy had faced off against a lich.
And not just any lich—a mage far stronger than Brooks Vessilja.
Compared to Troll’s usual Lightning Thorn, these attacks were sluggish.
They couldn’t even graze Squishy.
“Raaagh!”
(This damned sli! If I just used high-level magic, I could wipe it out instantly!)
But inside this secret workshop, using a wide-range spell could engulf even himself.
So Brooks Vessilja dared not recklessly unleash a large-scale attack.
Still, with the sli constantly slipping away, his irritation mounted.
▶ Lol, he hasn’t landed a single hit.
▶ Salty, huh? But still can’t hit? What a scrub, huh?
[Squishy Queen] ▶ Hmph! As if such a human could ever strike down my kin!
To the viewers, it was obvious—Brooks Vessilja was being toyed with, completely outmaneuvered.
And finally, after so many misses, his patience snapped.
“Uaaaaaah!”
(If I can just kill this cursed sli! Who cares if I get a little hurt!)
Driven to the brink by frustration, Brooks Vessilja began gathering mana to unleash a high-level spell.
But that, in truth—
(Is the opening I’ve been waiting for!)
It was the very gap Squishy had been aiming for.
Swoooosh!
With lightning speed, his tentacle shot out toward the staff.
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