TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 128
The Magic Tower was dark.
The magical tool for binding had been shattered along with the Magic Stone, and the barrier that the Tower Master had painstakingly fortified was erased due to someone’s foolish mistake.
A foolish mistake, indeed.
If they had a brain.
The traces of a mistake that no one with the ability to think would have made were scattered across the floor.
Under the flickering light, the Tower Master of the Magic Tower, Heinrich, stood with a grim expression, his long white beard hanging low.
Having wiped away his benevolent smile, Heinrich, with cold eyes, looked down at the corner of the room and spoke in a low voice.
“I hope you know what you’ve done.”
“Know what? It was a complete disaster.”
“You should know that’s not what I’m asking.”
It was a complete mess.
The lights flickered.
The Wizards stationed for security were lying on the ground, and the shattered flasks only added to Heinrich’s irritation.
What angered him the most.
Was that the Prisoner who should have been here was gone.
A prison break in a Magic Prison accessible only to High Officials—Heinrich let out an Empty Laugh that wouldn’t stop.
“How fascinating. I’ve never encountered anything like this in my life, so I have no words.”
Heinrich looked down at his Disciple, who was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.
Covered in blood and bearing the marks of an intense battle, the Disciple had his head bowed.
Not out of guilt, but out of the humiliation of defeat, the sight of the Disciple bowing his head was utterly pathetic.
The eyes of the Disciple, filled with the disgrace of defeat, stirred a deep anger within Heinrich.
“Ruin.”
Ruin interrupted Heinrich’s words and muttered irritably.
“Old Master, Hans… If that bastard had just kept his mouth shut, I could’ve won. That bastard brought up the Ranking Tournament…”
“Why are you comparing me to some bastard who can only whine and call for a ‘Young Lady’?”
Ruin clenched his fist.
“Next time, I’ll win. Right, Old Master?”
Seeing the Disciple show no sign of reflection, Heinrich let out a Deep Sigh.
“It seems you don’t understand the gravity of the situation.”
It was a magic that wouldn’t have been breached if not for some foolish action. The barrier he had created was strong enough that even the Empire’s Sword Master couldn’t have broken it.
It was like an unyielding wall.
Strong on the outside.
But weak and fragile on the inside.
Because of a Spy within, that wall had crumbled helplessly. Heinrich’s feelings were beyond words.
It was a result of his own poor judgment.
-Old Master, grant me the authority to enter the Underground Chamber.
-Ha… What nonsense.
-What are you saying?
He shouldn’t have granted Ruin the authority to enter the Underground Prison under the pretext of monitoring Hans.
He had judged that Ruin, who was to succeed him in leading the Magic Tower one day, would be capable of rational thought.
Had he placed too much expectation on Ruin? Now realizing that the Disciple he had been grooming as his successor could only see what was directly in front of him, Heinrich spoke in a bitter tone.
“Thirty.”
“Thirty what?”
“The number of people Hans killed. Perhaps even more.”
“So what do you want me to do about it?”
“I’m saying that because of your foolish decision, that number could increase, Ruin.”
“Ah, come on…!”
Ruin, as if trying to block out the Nagging, stuck his finger in his ear and spoke to Heinrich.
“I didn’t let him go, okay? I was just trying to ask him why he did it, and then that bastard hit me from behind.”
“You’re only thinking what’s convenient for you, Ruin.”
Heinrich treated Ruin differently from how he had until now.
A kind Mentor.
At times, a Father to the parentless Ruin. Stripping away the lightheartedness of a Friend, Heinrich addressed him with a stern voice.
“You’ve unleashed a Devil. A Devil that survives by consuming human souls.”
Ruin responded to Heinrich’s Nagging with a hollow smile.
“Old Master… Don’t you find it odd? Hans, I mean Hans.”
“…”
“Hans, who couldn’t even kill a Bug, killed people? Maybe he was being blackmailed or had some reason he couldn’t talk about.”
“The Outcome proves otherwise.”
“Stop talking in extremes.”
Ruin roughly brushed the dust off his Hair and spoke. He said it was no big deal and that they could just capture him again.
And he insisted Hans wasn’t the kind of person to do such a thing.
This time, Hans might have narrowly won, but Ruin, lifting his weary body, declared that if they fought again, he would definitely win.
“Anyway, didn’t Old Master bring Hans here to protect him?”
“…”
“Wasn’t it to find the real culprit?”
That was true.
Heinrich had placed a glimmer of Hope in Hans. That’s why he had gone so far as to make an unreasonable request, even indebting himself to that Red Hair.
But not anymore.
Hans had slipped out of his grasp.
Heinrich had decided not to think of him as his Disciple any longer.
And Ruin showed no sense of guilt for his actions.
Ruin’s words, filled with Whiny Complaints about wanting to draw strength from his delusions, held no True Feelings.
Ruin, in an annoyed tone full of exasperation, spoke to Heinrich.
“Why are you so worried? I don’t get it.”
“I don’t understand you either.”
“No… Hans didn’t kill anyone… Old Master doesn’t trust his Disciple’s words? Damn, can’t you figure it out with just a little thought? Why would That Guy…”
-Smack…!
Heinrich’s fist struck Ruin’s cheek as he uttered his baseless Hope. Though it was the frail fist of an untrained Wizard, the weight of the years and their relationship made it feel heavier on Ruin’s chest than any other blow.
Ruin, his head turned from the impact, remained silent.
Standing there for a long time, his head still turned, he harbored anger toward his Mentor for not trusting his Disciple.
Heinrich, watching Ruin who refused to look at him, spoke.
“Ruin.”
“…”
“Shut up.”
“…”
“Didn’t you call me a foolish Mentor who doesn’t trust his Disciple?”
Suppressing the anger welling up from his Deep Danjeon, Heinrich spoke.
“I’ve seen many Disciples…”
The Time when he had been alone with Hans flashed through Heinrich’s mind.
The sight of his Disciple, wearing the Magic Restraint Sphere on his hand and bowing his head.
The slumped shoulders of the Disciple he had raised as if he were his own son came to Heinrich’s mind.
-Hans, was it really you? Did you learn Dark Magic with your own hands?
What Hans had said back then had come as a tremendous shock.
-Yes.
-Why?
-They say I can become stronger. Stronger than I am now… That I can surpass Ruin without being bound by Mana.
-So you turned to Dark Magic for that?
-Yes. Anyway, Mentor only favors Ruin, so what could I possibly do? I should dream big too, shouldn’t I?
-Was it someone’s doing…
-Eh…
Hans spoke candidly with a hollow smile.
-Who would I give such a great opportunity to? I have to take it myself.
He was already a Disciple who had left.
He had raised countless Disciples.
He had seen Disciples leave Magic behind.
And even let go of Disciples who, like Hans, had dabbled in Dark Magic.
Thus, Heinrich could draw a painful conclusion. That Hans was no longer the Disciple he once knew.
“I’ve raised excellent Disciples, but I’ve also let go of Disciples like Hans, who were consumed by ambition.”
It was all his responsibility.
It stemmed from the shortcomings of a Master who couldn’t provide enough care, and so he wanted to end it with his own hands.
Whether by handing him over to the Imperial Army or by stripping him of Magic himself.
However.
He no longer had the confidence to determine Hans’s fate, now that Hans had slipped from his grasp.
If.
That Red Hair were to encounter Hans again, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.
Heinrich left Ruin, who was frozen in place, behind in the Prison and turned away.
“Reflect on your actions for a while.”
Granting what little mercy he could, Heinrich resolved to capture Hans quickly.
*
“Ricardo’s smile is so sly.”
The Young Lady, holding a Spoon in her mouth, suddenly burst out laughing as she looked at me.
She asked why I was laughing.
“Crazy Bastard.”
“That’s a bit of a hurtful thing to say.”
“Really? Then, hmm… You look like you’ve gone insane.”
“That’s even more hurtful.”
“Hmm…”
The Young Lady, placing the Spoon on the table, fell into deep thought, seemingly trying to find kinder words.
It seemed she couldn’t come up with a better alternative, as she furrowed her brow, lost in thought.
I smiled at the Young Lady, entertained by the pleasant thoughts running through my mind.
Thoughts of how much I could squeeze out of the Tower Master.
The answer was obvious without even seeing it.
The reason Hans escaped from the Tower Master’s grasp.
For an Archmage like the Tower Master to have let go of a mana-depleted Hans—it was absurd.
Then, the number of fools who could freely exploit the Tower Master’s authority within the Magic Tower narrowed down to fewer than ten, and there was no way the Vice Tower Master or the High-ranking Mages would do such a thing.
So the conclusion was Ruin.
It was highly likely to be something he had done.
Therefore.
‘It’s only right to hold Ruin accountable, isn’t it?’
I’m planning to steal one of Ruin’s Magic.
One of the reasons Ruin became the strongest in the latter part of the Novel.
White Magic, to be precise.