122 – Throwing Away the Plan – 1

A giant fang, formed by the mixing of fire and light spirit power, transformed into a hemispherical shape and covered the area.

It was larger than a defensive barrier and harder than a dragon’s scales.

Since it was Gi-jun who had originally shaped the spirit power and mana into the form of a fang for attacking in the first place, changing its shape according to his purpose was entirely possible.

―A beast’s fangs are not only for hunting but also for protecting family and companions. By realizing the defensive application of the skill, the Moonlight Blood Fangs (L) skill has reached level 23. Endurance (U) has increased by 1.

―A beast’s fangs are not only for hunting but also for protecting family and companions. By realizing the defensive application of the skill, the Moonlight Blood Fangs (L) skill has reached level 23. Endurance (U) has increased by 1.

The debris of the tower, falling from all directions while carrying aggressive mana, could not penetrate the burning barrier and disintegrated.

Gi-jun, who was looking up at the collapsing tower beyond the barrier he had created, turned to his companions and let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad I wasn’t too late. I didn’t expect the entire tower to collapse. What happened?”

“The death of the Tower Master was the trigger. I thought there would be no problem if we killed all the magicians, but I didn’t expect them to think about what would happen after their deaths.”

Tilla, who spoke while shaking her head, tapped the floor with her foot to check if it was collapsing, and then stealthily approached to hug Gi-jun’s neck with both arms.

It was indeed bold physical contact.

“Thank you for saving me, Jun.”

“Don’t thank me for something so obvious. And could you step away? I need to concentrate a bit to maintain this?”

“I just wanted to express my gratitude, though.”

As Tilla pulled away with a look of deep regret, Ji-hye chuckled.

“This oppa pretends to be easygoing, but his guard is surprisingly tight.”

Saying so, she stole a glance at Lora, who would normally never stay quiet in such a situation, but…

Surprisingly, Lora was in no position to worry about Gi-jun right now.

Before the Tower Master died, when he squeezed out the last of his mana to attack Lora—Gin shielded her, and as the attack ended up failing, an extremely awkward atmosphere was created between the two.

Although they had pretended not to notice because the situation was urgent, once they became safe thanks to Gi-jun’s barrier, what had happened earlier started to bother them again.

“Um, Miss Lora. Earlier…”

“Yes, well. Thank you. I’m glad we are both safe.”

Gin, who realized that Lora had noticed Tilla’s approach from the beginning, felt extremely embarrassed that he had acted like a clown but still wanted to appeal that his attempt to save her was genuine, and

Lora, who found it so awkward and unexpected that she wanted to just gloss over it, but since it was true that Gin had tried to save her, was troubled because she could not respond half-heartedly.

Although she did not know the detailed circumstances, Ji-hye, who noticed the strange atmosphere flowing between the two, let her eyes sparkle.

‘It looks like Gin likes Lora, but Lora likes Jun, right? What is this love triangle! He really is in the spring of his youth…’

She did not yet know the fact that she was in the exact same situation as Lora in her original party.

If she had known, she would not have been able to chew on popcorn so comfortably as if it were someone else’s business.

“Ah, in the end, the Animo Magic Tower has collapsed. I wanted to prevent this state of affairs at least…”

Meanwhile, Lectus, who could not help but worry about the future relationship between Gratia and the Magic Tower, wore a complicated expression as he looked up at the Magic Tower collapsing without leaving even a trace of its pillars.

Right now, including the teleport gates, how many places in Gratia were there that required the support of the Magic Tower?

Although the party’s response against Frankenstein Junior and the Animo Magic Tower occupied by him was highly justified—from the perspective of the Magic Tower, which had no way of knowing such details, it was as if Gratia had attacked and completely destroyed a well-run branch of the Magic Tower!

However, Nabinya, who trotted over to Lectus, reassured him by handing over the documents she pulled from her chest.

“I secured all the important records, nya. It’s the diary written by the Tower Master of the Animo Magic Tower as he accepted Frankenstein Junior into the tower, and Frankenstein Junior’s research journal, nya. Since traces of involvement with vampires are also revealed, if we show this, no matter how proud the magicians are, they won’t be able to complain about us destroying a single magic tower, nya.”

“…Did you find all of this by yourself while you were infiltrated?”

To Lectus, who asked in dumbfounded surprise, Nabinya stroked her whiskers and replied casually.

“I only searched focused on the areas with the highest security and where Frankenstein Junior’s scent remained strong, nya.”

“Cait Sith, you are incredibly competent. Do you have any thoughts of joining the royal intelligence department?”

“I will stay by Master’s side, nya!”

It was then.

A light flashed in the sky, and then something plunged down in a straight line, punching a hole in Gi-jun’s barrier.

It was aiming precisely at the documents held in Nabinya’s hand—and Gi-jun deflected it with his shield just in time.

—Clang!

Shockingly, the shield doubly reinforced with Adamant and Moonlight Blood Fangs was scratched.

Because of that, the barrier was disrupted—but fortunately, in sync with that timing, the collapse of the tower also stopped.

This meant that the person who had just tried to attack Nabinya held control of the tower.

“You blocked this?”

A woman’s voice discussed Gi-jun as if he were being insolent, despite her being the one who had attacked unilaterally.

Gi-jun, who raised his head, narrowed his eyes as he spotted a young woman floating among the debris of the tower suspended in midair.

He could tell she was not a citizen of Gratia just by looking at her clothes, which had wide sleeves and oddly resembled a hanbok.

Not only the sleeves, but she wore overall loose and roomy Oriental clothing, and on her skirt, which fluttered widely due to the wind, countless difficult-to-recognize magic letters were written, glowing in different colors.

“Ah—we said we would report to the main tower, and it seems the administrator came immediately after receiving the report.”

“An administrator, that’s not wrong. Since she is one of the Seven Sages of Hyeon.”

Fatum spoke while narrowing his eyes, as if he recognized her identity.

Although he was drained of energy due to having unfolded his Unique Territory until just moments ago, his momentum unique to a Hero remained as strong as ever.

As if he was not the only one who recognized the opponent’s identity, the woman called the sage descended while clicking her tongue.

“And you over there are a Hero, aren’t you? What on earth is your problem that you completely destroyed a magic tower formally authorized by our Hyeon?”

“The one who destroyed it was the Tower Master, not us. We merely performed the duty we ought to do as Heroes. …Sage, haven’t you already grasped the situation roughly?”

“Right, the demonic energy is absolutely vibrating. For these bastards to pull off such bullshit without giving a hint to the main tower… what a pain to clean up!”

She nodded lightly and waved her fingers in midair.

Three powerful beams of light, like the one that had pierced Gi-jun’s barrier earlier, flew in succession to aim at Nabinya’s documents again, but Gi-jun was not so easy as to be pierced by an attack he had already blocked once.

—Clash!

Gi-jun, who deflected the sage’s attacks without difficulty by wielding his two shields freely, wore a satisfied expression after confirming that the shields were not scratched this time, and then suddenly spoke as he glared sharply at the sage.

“If you keep targeting us, I have plans of my own as well. …Do you want to try more?”

“Ah—so annoying!”

Did she think it was a coincidence that he blocked the first attack?

The sage, realizing that Gi-jun, who had been overshadowed by Fatum’s presence, was a powerhouse who was by no means inferior to him, distorted her face completely and spat out curses.

“It was an attack that even the Hero couldn’t react to, so how did you block it!”

“I have just defeated an enemy. I cannot overlook you tarnishing the name of a Hero.”

“Ha.”

At the prideful Hero’s appeal of ‘I’m not weak!’, the sage ended up snorting.

Although she seemed to have a lot to say not only to Fatum but to their party as a whole—she ultimately swallowed her words and landed on the ground.

“Fine, I’ll let it slide this time. I already know the general contents of those documents. …The relationship between the Magic Tower and the Gratia Kingdom will be maintained as it is. However, just know that a Magic Tower will never be built in this city of Animo again.”

“As it is? You will have to take responsibility for failing to manage your subordinates.”

“Write that down in a document and send it later!”

She puffed her cheeks out as if she had no intention of hiding her displeased mood, and stroked her purple-glowing hair as she cast magic once again.

The debris of the tower, which had been suspended in midair until then, fell down one by one under the guidance of her mana and piled up neatly on the ground.

“Ah, but—this is really unpleasant.”

The sage, who was casting another magic toward the debris with a sullen expression, suddenly turned to Fatum and spat out a curse.

“Hero, if you keep believing that the Light Faction will tolerate your arrogant words and actions forever, you will get hurt badly.”

Fatum also replied without backing down.

“Shut up, coward. A coward who hid in a tower because you were afraid of the struggle dares to speak of the light.”

The Magic Tower was a research institution for those who declared neutrality.

Naturally, the Magic Kingdom of Hyeon, the headquarters of such research institutions, was a neutral nation.

They were people who would not interfere in the conflict between the Light Faction and the Dark Faction unless they were provoked first.

There was no way Fatum, a Hero, would look kindly upon those who ignored the duties they ought to bear despite possessing great power.

“Hmph, you’re just running on a hamster wheel, yet you dare to act so high and mighty.”

“If you provoke me any further, I will not tolerate it. Do not cross the line.”

“Yes, yes—.”

Instead of the angered Fatum, Gi-jun turned to Lectus and asked with just his eyes.

‘Can we beat that woman to death right now?’

‘Absolutely not!’

Naturally, Lectus shook his head in horror.

Although Gi-jun had no way of knowing yet, each of the Seven Sages representing the Magic Kingdom of Hyeon was a superhuman famous for having reached the legendary realm.

Not only was their individual combat power immense, but their symbolism was also so enormous that if a rumor spread that one of them had died in front of the Crown Prince of Gratia, it would not be strange if the Magic Kingdom invaded Gratia.

―By the way, Contractor, don’t kids who act so openly annoying like that usually have some sad secret? Try asking her carefully if she’s suffering from some terminal illness.

‘You’ve improved a lot, Lucy. I barely told you anything, yet you’ve already enlightened yourself in the ways of Korean dramas.’

―Fufu…

The one who had just laughed was not Lucy, but the evil spirit.

Gi-jun quickly shut his mouth, fearing that if he continued to show hostility toward the sage, the evil spirit would do something on his behalf.

“Good, it’s done. I’m leaving then.”

Perhaps some special treatment that the party could not recognize had been applied to the debris of the tower; the sage, who had already cleared away all the remnants of the structures that made up the Magic Tower, let out a sigh and turned around.

And Ji-hye quietly waved her hand.

“Nyah?!”

A beam of light that surged secretly from the ground vanished after being blocked by the electric current emitted by Ji-hye.

The sage, realizing that even her final attempt had failed, stamped her foot and shouted.

“What about you now! How did you notice!”

“Well, because you cast the same magic over and over again?”

“…Did that woman try to destroy the evidence until the very end?”

Gi-jun was so dumbfounded that he was now speechless.

He could not understand what kind of environment would allow someone to be so reckless and self-centered.

Aside from that, he had already clearly stated that if she wanted to keep going, he had plans of his own.

If Ji-hye had not blocked the sage’s magic just now, leaving aside losing the documents, Nabinya could have been hurt.

Protecting his companions was Gi-jun’s duty.

No matter who the opponent was, Gi-jun had no intention of compromising.

“Right, so you want to take this to the end after all.”

As Gi-jun quietly raised his fighting spirit and took a step forward—the complaining sage took a step back without realizing it.

The species grades of the two differed by a good two ranks, which should have brought about an insurmountable difference in status.

For some reason, the sage was feeling an overwhelming sense of dread from Gi-jun, who was slowly closing the distance while glaring at her.

She could not have imagined in her wildest dreams that his species grade was Rare.

“No, I just.”

The sage, who did not even notice that her own voice was trembling, took another step back without even thinking of floating up to the sky, and spoke as if making an excuse.

“I was just uncomfortable with the Magic Tower’s documents remaining in your hands…”

“You might go around lying as easily as you breathe, but I keep my word. You won’t be able to just go back.”

“Jun! Please!”

Lectus, convinced that Gi-jun was going to cause trouble, quickly stepped in front of him and shouted toward the sage.

“Sage! You must pay him a proper price!”

“Ah, I get it. I just have to apologize, okay? I’ll apologize!”

Unlike when she had made her powerful entrance, the sage cried out with a tearful face.

“I’m sorry, I was just hot-tempered… I made a mistake!”

“Who are you apologizing to right now?”

“Of course, to… Ah, seriously.”

In the end, the sage bowed her head and apologized to Nabinya.

Though he could not say for sure, it was certainly not a sight easily seen; Lectus watched it with a truly strange expression.

Threatening with physical evidence or suppressing with force was possible one way or another.

However, breaking the spirit of a powerhouse on the level of a sage just by radiating a strong will was the first time Lectus had ever seen such a thing in his life.

Even Fatum, who had been furious with the sage, admired the sight and calmed his anger.

“Indeed, he is fully qualified to be a Hero.”

“Certainly… it seems so.”

However, Gi-jun still did not soften his expression.

If this continent were a gentle world where a mistake could be swept away with a single word, there would have been no conflicts in the first place.

If he appeared easy, his enemies would take him and his party lightly.

To protect his party, Gi-jun had to be firm, fastidious, and relentless.

The sage also realized this.

“Come to Hyeon. I will invite you in my name. When you come—I will treat you generously. I’ll give you a gift, a gift too.”

“…”

Gi-jun did not reply, but turned to Lectus and asked if this was a fair compensation, and Lectus nodded without hesitation.

“If it is a gift from one of the Seven Sages, it would be appropriate as an apology for attacking a party member. Sage, Jun is Gratia’s benefactor. I hope you will treat him in a manner befitting your reputation.”

“No matter how I am, I wouldn’t do anything strange to a guest I invited under my own name!”

The sage shouted as if her pride had been hurt by Lectus’s words, despite thinking nothing of secretly attacking after breaking her own word.

As Gi-jun was frowning at the thought of what he would do if everyone in the Magic Kingdom was as strange as her when he eventually went there, the sage, having finished her apology, turned to Ji-hye and spoke.

“And wouldn’t you like to be my disciple? Blocking it like that man is one thing, but I didn’t expect you to read my magic even before it was activated.”

“I’m sorry, but I have no intention of leaving the party.”

Ji-hye’s reply was firm.

The sage, thinking that Ji-hye did not yet know the weight of the name of a sage, nodded meekly, saying “Okay,” and floated up to the sky.

“My name is Yul-yeong. Come to the Magic Kingdom and mention my name. Let’s talk about the rest then.”

The next moment, her figure vanished from the spot.

A perfect spatial teleportation ability surpassing even Viv’s.

Only the last words she left behind were carried by the wind and struck their eardrums.

[And by the way, I heard that your kingdom is in an uproar right now because of a fight with vampires, so I don’t know if you should be taking it easy here.]