The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 336: The Violet Brigade (7)
“......”
The Heavenly Sword slowly pulled himself upright.
Having been beaten like a sandbag until just moments ago, there wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t ache and throb.
And yet, his mood felt fresher than ever before.
Like the feeling of throwing off clothes that had been tightly constricting his body.
‘The atmosphere changed?’
Kaya warily scanned the Heavenly Sword, who looked to be in quite a good mood, quickly sweeping her gaze from head to toe.
At least outwardly, nothing had changed.
The bones she had broken a moment ago were still broken, and the swollen flesh remained just as bloated.
‘But what is this?’
From the current Heavenly Sword, she could feel a composure and ease that hadn’t existed before.
Just as she was about to think about what the reason might be—
mana began gathering around his body.
“Mana? Don’t tell me......”
“It’s been quite an entertaining experience after a long time. Though not quite enough to enjoy for very long.”
As though a blocked floodgate had opened, the mana that had originally belonged to the Heavenly Sword began returning to its rightful place.
Only after seeing that did Kaya let out a groan.
“......Level 8? You broke free from the Domain of Hierarchical Reversal by yourself?”
“To be precise, this old man cut it.”
“That’s impossible!”
She refuted him without realizing it.
The Domain of Hierarchical Reversal was an inherent effect possessed by this dungeon itself.
In other words, it was akin to the laws or order of the world.
‘If he cut through that.......’
It meant the Heavenly Sword had become a being no longer bound by the world’s rules.
“No way.”
For a fleeting moment, the terrifying word Level 9, Demigod flashed through Kaya’s mind.
Sensing her thought, the Heavenly Sword quietly nodded.
“You seem to have figured it out. Indeed, this old man grasped the doorknob to Level 9 this time... and even turned it.”
However, his enlightenment was still insufficient to cross that door just yet.
After all, this realization was closer to something forcefully awakened through external factors.
In other words, he could ascend to Level 9 right now if he wished, but that would only be a half-complete state.
‘Now that I’ve found the direction of enlightenment, all that remains is fitting the fragments together.’
In the end, the Heavenly Sword willingly let go of the doorknob in order to reach a complete Level 9.
It was a realm he had longed for over decades.
He couldn’t afford to rush and ruin things when all it required was waiting just a few more months.
“Ugh.”
With things having reached this point, it was Kaya whose thoughts became tangled.
‘So this old monster could reach Level 9 whenever he wants... no, putting that aside, he’s definitely regained his original strength.’
It was an obvious statement, but with their current power, victory could no longer be guaranteed.
Even though the Heavenly Sword was thoroughly exhausted and wounded.
“Tch.”
Clicking her tongue lightly, Kaya slowly lowered both fists.
After all, from the moment he regained his strength, she was no longer the one holding decision-making power in this battlefield.
“If you insist on continuing, I won’t avoid it... but what will you do?”
“Hmm.”
The Heavenly Sword, staring at Kaya with dry eyes, shook his head.
“I’m in a very good mood right now, so I don’t particularly feel like moving.”
With those words, his mana pressed down over the entire area.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean you’re free to move as you please.”
Having effectively taken all members of the Violet Brigade in the altar chamber hostage, the Heavenly Sword slightly turned his head.
‘Now then, this old man seems to have fulfilled his role well enough.......’
The rest was left in the hands of the young ones.
A prayer room inside the dungeon.
Red candles flickered, softly illuminating the entire dark space.
“......”
Having entered, Oscar looked at the captain standing with his back turned.
Seen from behind beyond the prayer benches, his figure even appeared devout at a glance.
“Stop sweating so much. Doesn’t look like you have anywhere left to run anyway.”
“The dungeon’s structure is terrible. Whoever made this place should relearn design from the beginning.”
Clicking his tongue lightly, the captain slowly turned around.
He raised a hand toward Oscar, who had pursued him relentlessly.
“If possible, I didn’t want to fight you... but this too must be fate.”
The captain took a posture as if he were about to snap his fingers at any moment.
The instant those fingers moved even slightly, the battle that had been postponed would begin.
“Hmm?”
Then, the captain suddenly showed confusion.
The authority he had naturally exercised as the dungeon’s owner had vanished like a lie.
“......”
Naturally, even while fleeing, he had been supporting the main force and Oran’s side.
He had believed that as long as the Heavenly Sword and Sasha were restrained, the rest would be handled by those there.
But the Domain of Hierarchical Reversal had been severed.
As though such power had never existed in the first place, it simply vanished.
“A power that shatters order.”
Long ago, the captain had seen such a power before.
That was why he gave a bitter smile.
“......So that old monster’s sword finally reached the heavens.”
If so, further combat was meaningless.
After all, only predetermined defeat awaited at the end.
Finishing his thoughts in an instant, the captain slowly lowered his hand.
As the suffocating tension that had been tightening everything eased, Oscar narrowed his eyes.
“What are you trying to do now?”
“Nothing.”
Shrugging, the captain openly turned his back to him and plopped down onto a prayer bench.
“Quite literally, I intend to do nothing. I’m not the type to invest time and effort into something meaningless.”
Unable to grasp the captain’s intentions, Oscar approached without lowering his guard.
But even as he reached close range, the man didn’t move an inch.
After watching him for a moment, Oscar spoke.
“If I had attacked you just now, you’d already be dead.”
“You would have. But I knew you wouldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you have no reason to kill me.”
Only then did the captain glance back at him.
“All humans—no, all living beings—must have a reason when they take action. If you understand that reason, you can more or less infer how they’ll move.”
“......”
Silently staring at him, Oscar sat down in a prayer bench diagonally behind him.
At this distance and position, he would be able to respond first no matter what happened.
“So you’ve given up on fighting?”
“The Domain of Hierarchical Reversal disappeared. I didn’t erase it, which means it was destroyed externally—and for that to be possible, one must be at least Level 9. You should prepare words of congratulations for the Heavenly Sword.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
The Heavenly Sword... that old man reached Level 9?
He had looked like he might realize something, but Oscar didn’t expect it to happen this cleanly.
Of course, since Oscar didn’t witness it with his own eyes, he couldn’t say exactly what state Heavenly Sword is in.
‘But if the captain is tucking his tail this quickly before even really fighting.......’
At least one thing was certain—the Domain of Hierarchical Reversal had truly disappeared.
Oscar spoke.
“What a frighteningly cold rationality you have.”
“There’s no reason to continue a fight whose defeat is already certain.”
Just moments ago he had exhausted every method for victory, yet the instant he realized it was impossible, he gave up.
Most incompetent leaders would force reckless moves out of pride alone.
From that perspective, he was quite capable for someone leading a group.
“Since you’ve acknowledged defeat, should I assume you’ll comply with our demands?”
“As long as they’re not utterly absurd, I’m willing to accept to a certain extent.”
As a proper negotiation table was laid out, Oscar asked sharply.
“The Mad Fiend. You knew his true identity was Gilliot Dominic, didn’t you?”
“......How could I not? We spent quite a long time together.”
“Did you make him like that?”
If the captain was the one who had turned Gilli into such a monster, forgiveness would be impossible.
“The meaning of ‘like that’ is rather vague.”
“I’m asking whether you’re the one who made him lose his reason and become consumed by rage.”
“Hmm, I think there’s some misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
As Oscar’s emotions wavered slightly, the captain glanced his way.
After staring briefly at the crackling mask, he spoke.
“When I first met Gilliot, he was already in that state. No—if anything, it would be more accurate to say he was in even worse condition back then.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
“Whether you believe me or not is your choice. But I have no reason to lie.”
Snap!
The captain flicked his finger, and a strange attraction formed as the surrounding air was pulled toward him.
“As you’ve already experienced, I can absorb all forms of energy. When I first met Gilliot, he was emitting rage far greater than anything comparable to now.”
“......Go on.”
“Our interests aligned perfectly. In exchange for absorbing that rage energy, I could use his tremendous power, and he could maintain enough emotional stability to live at least a minimal everyday life.”
There wasn’t anything difficult to understand so far.
Oscar had already vaguely guessed something had gone wrong during Gilli’s process of learning Wind of Ruin.
“Because we needed each other, we naturally formed a contract. Whenever he lost control, I would calm his rage and help him recover his lost memories and reason. In return, the Mad Fiend lent me his power. We were quite a decent duo.”
“Then why didn’t you tell us about him? If we’d known, we might’ve been able to help treat him.”
“I judged it wouldn’t help much. In fact, the Mad Fiend suffered terribly whenever topics related to the White Tower, his master, or his fellow disciples came up.”
“......”
The air around him was calm.
But that alone wasn’t enough to conclude everything he said was true.
“Wind Archive.”
So Oscar opened a single book.
Recognizing it, the captain let out a low groan.
“......Magic created by the greatest mage in history.”
“You know this book?”
“Of course. I’ve only seen it from afar, but I’ve watched Oscar Sage sweep away enemies with that magic.”
“Then this’ll be quicker.”
Oscar opened the book and said:
“From now on, I’ll use this magic to verify the sincerity of everything you’ve said.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then I won’t be able to trust you, and this truce ends here.”
“......”
Answering firmly, Oscar turned his gaze toward Wind Archive.
“Determine whether there was any falsehood in what this guy has said to me today.”
Wooooong!
Upon the brightly glowing blank pages of Wind Archive, every sentence the captain had spoken that day began to record itself.
—There’s no reason to continue a fight whose defeat is already certain.
—As long as they’re not utterly absurd, I’m willing to accept to a certain extent.
—......How could I not? We spent quite a long time together.
As every statement was judged true, Oscar felt uncertain.
‘Up to now, all true. Was I just being suspicious for no reason? No, still... it was something I had to verify at least once.’
After all, this was Gilli—his own disciple.
Just as Oscar’s guard began to loosen slightly amid the continuous parade of truths—
—Of course. I’ve only seen it from afar, but I’ve watched Oscar Sage sweep away [enemies] with that magic.
Ding! Ding!
With an unpleasant warning sound, the sentence flashed in yellow.
A strange silence lingered between the two for a moment before Oscar muttered.
“What?”
It came up as pending—neither truth nor falsehood.
And not even on an important statement; it was something trivial.
Which made it even stranger.
‘Why would something so insignificant be marked pending?’
No matter how many times he read it, he couldn’t tell which part caused the pending result.
Did the man bluff about seeing Wind Archive at all?
No—that should have been marked false, not pending.
As Oscar pondered, the captain, who had been silent until now, cautiously opened his mouth.
“Must be an error.”
“No. Wind Archive doesn’t make mistakes.”
After a brief thought, Oscar issued a new command to Wind Archive.
“Mark exactly which part of this sentence triggered the pending result.”
Then, as if guided by an invisible pen, a marker appeared on one word.
—Of course. I’ve only seen it from afar, but I’ve watched Oscar Sage sweep away [enemies] with that magic.
Enemies?
It became pending because of that single word?
Oscar’s eyes narrowed.
‘What in the world.......’
Does that mean he had used this magic to sweep away not enemies—but allies?
Impossible.
But if not that, then what other possibility could there be.......
“......”
At that moment, a terrifying hypothesis crossed Oscar’s mind, and he naturally turned to look at the captain, who had fallen silent.
“Sorry, but could you take off that mask?”
“Why?”
“I might be going crazy, but a very unpleasant assumption just crossed my mind.”
“......Sometimes there are boxes that help both sides more if left unopened.”
“I’ll decide that myself.”
The captain fell silent at Oscar’s firm demand.
But only for a moment.
Letting out a heavy sigh, the captain stood up.
And slowly reached up to remove the helmet-like mask.
“Turn around.”
By now, Oscar’s voice was already trembling.
It would hurt his head less if Wind Archive had simply been broken.
“......”
As the captain turned, the dark chestnut coat he wore fluttered.
What appeared next was a face that looked perfectly normal.
The kind of utterly ordinary face you might pass once every five minutes in a bustling street.
That is—
except for the pair of severed horns protruding from his forehead.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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