CHAPTER 492: SIDE STORY - CORONATION CEREMONY (6)

0% - Crackle...!

“W-What’s going on?”

“I-I don’t know. The ancient magic is suddenly not responding.”

Realizing the situation was serious, Frey asked urgently, and Irina responded nervously while deploying a magic circle.

“Why is this happening? T-There was no error in the magic circle.”

“T-This could lead to a rampage.”

“...Damn it.”

Not just Irina but also Ferloche was trying to calm the ancient magic, but the situation wasn’t improving.

“Wait, but if the ancient magic is rampaging...”

In that critical moment, Frey began to piece together his thoughts.

“If what you’re saying is true, then it means the system itself is rampaging, right?”

“Come to think of it.”

“H-How is that possible?”

“If that’s true, this isn’t a minor issue.”

Frey’s expression, which had been observing the crowd below, started to darken.

“If the ancient magic is indeed a type of system, then someone is interfering with it right now...”

Although he didn’t finish his thought, Irina and Ferloche could predict what he was going to say next.

“Could it be that octopus bastard?”

“Impossible. That creature is currently sealed in hell.”

“...Are you sure?”

When Frey asked in a tense voice, Ferloche nodded and replied.

“I’m certain. Just a few days ago, I went there with Kania and Ruby.”

“...To Hell?”

“Yes, the God of Chaos was broken still, begging for life. It had neither the strength nor the will left to do such a thing.”

“Then who on earth could be...”

With the most likely suspect ruled out, Frey ground his teeth, looking troubled.

- Zzz... Zz...!

“...?”

At that moment, a communication crystal in Frey’s possession started to vibrate.

“Hello.”

Frey, who was about to leave the platform where Clana stood to head towards Kania and Serena, answered the call.

“...”

But as he took a few steps, he suddenly froze, his face turning pale.

“Roswyn, what did you just say?”

- Zzz... zz...

“Roswyn!!”

As the connection was cut off abruptly, Irina, Ferloche, and Clana approached him, looking worried.

“W-What happened?”

“There’s no time to explain! We need to find her right now!”

“Who... who do you mean?”

Turning away from the group, Frey hurriedly stepped down from the platform and shouted back at them.

“The Magic Tower Master!”

“...What?”

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“The Magic Tower Master? Why her...?”

“Now’s not the time for that! We need to stop the ritual at any cost!”

“...”

The group raced through the crowds, heading towards where the Magic Tower Master was likely located.

“It makes no sense. Why would such a respected Archmage do something like this?”

“Damn it. There was no mention of this in the prophecy.”

“I’m sensing a massive amount of mana from that direction. The Magic Tower Master must be there.”

Magic Tower Master, you...

Amid the tense silence, Irina, who had remained wordless, gritted her teeth as memories surged within her.

Could it be... she hasn’t let go of that obsession?

She remembered something.

“What are you doing... Master?”

“...I-Irina.”

That day when the bond between a beloved teacher and her disciple shattered, that memory pricked at Irina’s heart.

“That’s forbidden magic.”

“...I can explain.”

“Explain what?”

In the hidden basement of the Magic Tower, which she had entered by chance, Irina found her revered teacher conducting a forbidden study.

“How are you going to justify extracting and using human souls for magic?”

“Calm down. It’s not what you think...”

“Shut up!!!”

Normally, she would have listened.

The souls her teacher used as materials were indeed those of vile criminals, easily recognizable even by Irina.

And the teacher she had known would never have succumbed to the temptation of such dark arts.

“Did you invent that spell?”

“...No. I only...”

“Then how do you know about it?!”

But despite everything, Irina couldn’t contain her fury.

“Because of that spell... because of that spell...!!”

“Calm down, Irina!”

The spell her master was using was the very one that had taken the lives of Clana’s mother, Claria, and Frey’s mother, Floria.

Irina’s soul, imprinted with memories from countless regressions, reacted instinctively, even though she had lost her memories of Frey’s mother.

- Crackle...! Crackle...!

“Noooooooo!!”

Irina’s uncontrolled outburst disrupted the ritual the Magic Tower Master had been conducting.

This was the reason why the relationship between the master and disciple, once closer than family, had crumbled overnight.

I should have been more careful...

Irina clenched her fists as she followed the group, suppressing the unpleasant memories.

I didn’t know she was still so attached to that spell.

In truth, Irina’s relationship with the Magic Tower Master had been slowly mending.

Through several conversations, she realized that the misuse of soul magic wasn’t of the Magic Tower Master’s intent.

Irina herself had used the ‘soul magic’ in saving Frey, which allowed them to face the true ‘Third Ordeal.’

If not for that spell, they wouldn’t have been able to confront that Ordeal.

Moreover, Floria, one of the spell’s victims, had been revived recently, and the preparation for Claria’s resurrection was underway.

Above all, Frey, who had heard the story, had chosen silence, prompting Irina to try and move past it, despite the lingering discomfort.

But now, this...

What is she trying to do?

As they neared the Magic Tower Master’s ominous presence, cold sweat trickled down Irina’s face.

The magic she created... it isn’t just about controlling souls.

The more she thought about the Magic Tower Master’s current actions, the more she felt a chill run down her spine.

The real purpose... must be to sacrifice souls for some greater goal.

And the object of her interference was none other than ancient magic, the system itself.

“...Clana, I need to ask you something.”

“R-Right now? This isn’t...”

“The trial of the coronation—what is it exactly?”

When Irina posed this sudden question, Clana, though confused, answered.

“It’s... just a simple trial. Like the Second or Third Ordeals, a virtual world is created where the test is conducted...”

“Intervening in a trial? Does she intend to conduct the trial anew? But why now?”

“What do you mean by...?”

“No matter how desperate she is, she wouldn’t do something so reckless. Then... why...”

As Irina tried to piece together her thoughts, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“...Ah.”

A realization struck her.

“Could it be...”

She recalled the gleam in the Magic Tower Master’s eyes when she spoke about her magical achievements and temporal magic after the Third Ordeal.

“...Irina? What’s wrong?”

“Everyone move! This is an emergency!”

Short, but undeniably sharp.

“...She’s trying to turn back time?”

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“Magic Tower Master!!!”

“Stop it!!!”

“Hmm.”

The Magic Tower Master, who had been conducting the ritual with Roswyn bound, scowled as the voices reached her.

“Hey!!! You senile old hag!!”

“...Mind your manners.”

“Turning back time is impossible! Just give up already!!!”

Irina, charging furiously at the Magic Tower Master, shouted at the top of her lungs.

“I only managed to reverse time because the system—no, the ancient magic allowed it! I don’t know what you’re planning to sacrifice, but you can’t defeat the ancient magic!”

“Yes, I’ve spent my entire life realizing it was impossible... or so I thought.”

The Magic Tower Master, who had quietly raised her hand to finish the spell, looked Irina straight in the eye as she spoke.

“I tried and tried for a lifetime... but the ancient magic you speak of always stood in my way.”

“Wait, that... that means...”

“My first disciple, who had found the key, was taken from me. My second disciple, you, were too insubordinate to be effective.”

“What did you just...?”

“And the third disciple... I couldn’t bring myself to use her. Age must have softened me. It’s foolish to grow attached in this world.”

In her hand, the simulacrum of the otherworldly being who once brought the world to its knees floated inside a small glass jar, its eyes devoid of focus.

“So, I’ll offer this soul to end it all.”

“Stop ittttt!!”

“I’ve waited so long for this.”

Irina’s desperate scream echoed into the sky.

- Crash...!

With a tight grip, the Magic Tower Master crushed the jar, shattering it along with the simulacrum.

“If I can correct the mistakes of that day...”

- Ssshh...

“If I can remember the one I have long forgotten...”

As she let the dark smoke escape her hand and into the magic circle, she closed the spell with eyes now glowing an ominous black.

“Komerun!!!!”

Just as the Magic Tower Master’s plan seemed poised for success...

“...Huh?”

An anomaly arose from an unexpected place.

“W-Wait.”

The magic circle, completed by the Magic Tower Master’s grim resolve, started to flow not toward its intended recipient, Rifael Solar Sunrise.

“Ha...”

But instead toward Roswyn Solar Sunset, who had reached out and touched the circle despite being bound.

“It turns out even the Sunset... can get things done.”

Sensing that the Magic Tower Master’s and Rifael’s plan had gone awry, Roswyn whispered before losing consciousness.

- Crackle, crackle...!

Shortly after, the world began to crack apart.

“...So.”

“...!”

The Magic Tower Master heard a familiar voice.

“I told you, no more sweet potatoes!”

With those words, the world once again began to turn upside down.

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