Chapter 249: The Forge (2)

Evelyn’s body vanished as if extinguishing on the spot.

Flash!

A green flash instantly wound its way through the surging flames of the furnace.

An elegant movement, as if she wasn’t avoiding flame-filled spaces but directly creating paths forward. It was the trajectory of a benefactor who reminded Lennok what true combat between superhumans looked like.

Arriving at the wide-open iron door of the furnace, Evelyn placed her left hand on the ground, twisted her body sideways, and used her accumulated acceleration to kick the left iron door.

BOOM!!

As three overlapping circular waves exploded outwards, the left iron door crumpled inwards into the furnace.

Even if she reinforced her body with mana and fully transferred her running momentum, the impact force was still unbelievable.

It must have been related to the power of the ability contained within Evelyn’s inner world, her Miniature Universe.

But the problem was the right iron door.

Even for Evelyn, it would be difficult to exert the same impact force consecutively.

However, as heat concentrated at the half-closed furnace entrance, the left iron door, which was already closed, began to melt.

At this rate, one of the furnace doors would be destroyed before both could be closed.

Evelyn’s chosen method was simple.

She temporarily detached a part of her suit, attached it to her right arm, then grabbed the other door and pushed it shut.

HISSSSSS!!!

Immeasurable heat instantly climbed Evelyn’s right arm, turning into a massive flame that swiftly burned the arm inside the suit.

There was no need to explain the level of pain from burning flesh while fully conscious.

But Evelyn merely winced slightly, then, conversely, focused even more intensely, suppressing the flames spewing from the furnace and closing the iron door.

THUM-WOONG!!

And even then, she held it, preventing the door from reopening.

“…!!”

Truly superhuman endurance. She couldn’t be devoid of pain, yet enduring such agony while conscious proved how formidable that archer’s mental fortitude was.

Her clear understanding of what needed to be done and her decisive, unhesitating action were enough to make even Lennok admire her.

Since she trusted Lennok and acted first, Lennok had no choice but to reciprocate, at least minimally.

Lennok pulled out four talismans from inside his coat, drawing up a strong surge of mana and slamming it into them.

Part of the spell-enhancement catalyst sets he had received as a condition for fulfilling Evelyn’s request. It pained him to use one here, but he could get it back from her later, with interest.

Clack-clack-clack!!

The four talismans, having left Lennok’s hand, haphazardly stuck to the iron door.

Surprisingly, the mana manifesting from the seemingly randomly thrown talismans began to momentarily suppress the furnace’s magical power.

His violet Mystic Eye spun violently, instantly piercing through the heat flow inside the furnace.

Lennok hadn’t just been idly looking at books in the library all day.

The Mystic Eye he had newly awakened through his sparring with Gionis. Figuring out its specific operating principles and manifestation conditions was also a crucial matter.

As a result, Lennok was able to conclude what the rotating Mystic Eye in his left eye meant.

A kaleidoscope gazing upon the countless branching points within Lennok’s inner world. It actualized a portion of his ability to gauge endlessly extending possibilities as a form of sensory perception.

The violet Mystic Eye was a type of Domain Projection, visualizing a part of his inner world in a localized aspect.

Now, he felt he could somewhat understand the power of the Mystic Eye Olivera possessed.

Her Seven Debts Jewels Mystic Eye was also likely a type of ‘masterpiece,’ created in a similar, but far more refined, manner to Lennok’s.

Staining the potential outcomes that would change with Lennok’s choices in shades of red and blue, it predicted and determined how the heat flow inside the furnace would extend.

An intuition pushed to its limit, and an inner world that received answers. A mutation born from overflowing talent that surpassed its limits, flowing into the mana pathway connected to his left eye.

Long-term use or wide-range observation was impossible, but if it was about observing the furnace’s range and drawing a predictable flow map in his mind—

POW-POW-POW!!

Lennok’s hands moved complexly, simultaneously manipulating the mana contained within the four talismans.

Each time he manipulated the mana, he observed, predicted, and controlled the furnace’s chaotic heat, always one step ahead.

Each moment the mana extending from the talismans stretched into the furnace, the red and blue zones wildly flickered and shifted, but Lennok didn’t hesitate for a moment.

Visualization of prediction using his unique powerful intuition. Even a fantasy that an ordinary wizard would dismiss as a rough guess transformed into a near-prescient observation within Lennok’s inner world.

Ice Creation Magic.

Catalyst Enhancement: Space Designation.

[Closure of Paths (結來闋塞)]

The mana contained within the four talismans pierced into the furnace like an awl, severing the surging heat flow within.

Lennok’s unhesitatingly wielded mana solidified and blocked the hot air that had been continuously flowing out between the iron doors.

“Close the gate.”

CRACKLE-CRACKLE-CRACKLE!!!

The moment the furnace’s entrance was completely sealed with solidified mana, the furnace’s heat, having lost its escape route, began to rampage, echoing inside and emitting a fearsome roar.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!!!!

A massive vibration hammered the entire control room as if the closed iron door would shatter any moment, but no more heat escaped.

The mana Lennok wielded inside the furnace controlled the heat to a precarious point, causing the explosive heat itself to circulate internally.

The other wizards, who had barely been able to withstand the furnace’s heat from the back of the control room, watched, unable to even blink.

“…What am I seeing? Is this possible through calculations?”

“You could only call it gambling with your life… but even so, it’s an impossible miracle.”

“The heat is circulating inside. Could it be that he intended this from the very beginning…?”

This was not a amount of heat that could be controlled by a single human’s mana.

It was a miracle practically equivalent to single-handedly sealing a volcanic crater. The absurd idealism of overpowering strength with refined technique was, for a moment, directly realized here.

The moment the other wizards’ eyes widened to not miss a single moment of the flow, the management team wizards, realizing the furnace had calmed down somewhat, rushed in and unplugged all the countless cables connected to the furnace.

HSSSSSS!!

The trembling heat of the furnace rotated and extended towards the exhaust vents, slowly beginning to subside.

Once the furnace’s power source was completely severed and the remaining heat began to be safely discharged, the surrounding scenery finally came into clear view.

Injured people groaning, clutching their burnt areas. The medical team, arriving late and transporting people to the emergency room.

And the management team, beginning to service the furnace while receiving harsh rebukes from other wizards.

All of them looked down at this spot with eyes full of admiration.

The two people had just averted an accident that could have completely destroyed this Magic Tower, holding it back with sheer skill and will.

The explosion of a core facility responsible for a portion of the steel industry was not merely an accident; it was on the scale of a natural disaster.

If a furnace that drew heat from a volcano were to explode, it wouldn’t be strange for the entire volcanic zone to be engulfed in disaster.

“Everyone, move aside…!!”

“Lord Gionis!”

Gionis appeared belatedly and threw the staff he was holding into the exhaust vent. The slowly subsiding vibrations completely vanished, and the surroundings turned quiet.

Lennok watched the belatedly appearing, stumbling Gionis with an indifferent expression.

Ultimately, he had calmed the furnace without Gionis’s help, but was it a coincidence that he only appeared after the situation began to stabilize?

However, there was something more important to consider right now than that.

“Evelyn, your arm?”

Hadn’t she fully absorbed the rampaging furnace heat with one arm and even closed the remaining door?

Without any special measures, it was enough heat to burn her entire body to ashes.

“…I’m fine.” Evelyn, who had sunk down behind Lennok, smiled wearily.

“I used up all my mana, but I flowed the heat away.”

“…”

“Instead, I can’t help but suffer from exhaustion.”

As she said, unlike the suit part wrapped around Evelyn’s arm, which had turned completely to ash, her arm didn’t look severely injured apart from cracked skin.

She probably rotated the power of her Miniature Universe to its limit at the same time she grabbed the furnace door, allowing the heat to flow away.

The specific nature of Evelyn’s Miniature Universe ability was unknown, but it was a method of controlling the direction of a certain force.

She likely minimized damage by using her innate ability to spray the heat pouring onto her arm outwards the moment she grabbed the furnace door.

Supporting that conjecture, a long, solidified molten trail remained behind her feet, as if a rocket had launched from there.

An interference ability that directly manipulated heat flow, not just mana manipulation. It was a heat manipulation skill that even Lennok couldn’t guarantee he could perform, but without that level of artistry, preserving her arm in the furnace’s intense heat couldn’t be explained.

It was proof that she, too, had mastered a distinct field in body manipulation.

“The problem isn’t my arm, but that the recent accident might not have been an accident.” Evelyn whispered to Lennok, her lips barely moving.

“Van, I don’t know if you saw it, but Gionis’s expression just before the furnace went critical was…”

“He was smiling.”

“…”

He had a face that looked like a needle wouldn’t draw a single drop of blood, but precisely because of that, Lennok didn’t miss even the faint emotion he exuded.

If his mouth had faintly twisted just before the accident, when his gaze turned towards the furnace, could this incident truly be considered an accident?

Just as Evelyn was about to say more. “You were here.” Gionis, supported by other wizards, approached Evelyn.

He, who had been continuously stumbling as if unable to walk properly, bowed his head with a pale complexion.

“I have no words for you two. To entrust the handling of such a dangerous accident to guests of the Magic Tower…”

“…It couldn’t be helped. The Tower’s losses from this incident won’t be small, so I hope things are resolved smoothly.”

To Evelyn’s reply, Gionis immediately continued.

“As for any injuries or after-effects you sustained from this incident, our Magic Tower will take full responsibility for all costs. Furthermore, we will significantly extend your pre-arranged stay at the Tower until you both fully recover.”

“That means…”

“We are truly grateful for what happened today.”

As Gionis spoke, other wizards began supporting the two, moving them to the infirmary.

Lennok and Evelyn were only released after undergoing a thorough examination for nearly half a day to ensure there were no issues with their bodies.

Until yesterday, they were merely guests, but now they were heroes who had prevented an accident that could have blown up the entire Magic Tower.

It was natural that the other wizards’ treatment of them became exceedingly cordial.

The two also naturally overheard the ongoing situation from the medical team.

Rumors even spread that during the investigation into the attempted furnace explosion, traces of external intrusion were found, and those traces led to caves near the volcanic zone.

Evelyn, holding a fruit basket given as a gift by the medical team wizards, turned her gaze with an unreadable expression.

“Van, what do you think?”

“It’s obvious.” Lennok, who had patches plastered all over his face despite having no injuries, chuckled.

“He’s definitely suspicious in many ways. Up until now, it was hard to even grasp his objective, but today’s incident made it clear.”

“…What?”

“He’s trying to test our capabilities. He’s been doing it continuously since yesterday… and very overtly, too.”

Lennok’s eyes gleamed coldly through the bandages.

Evelyn let out a small laugh.

“Doesn’t matter. I have a rough idea of what he’s hiding now. We just need to make him blab it out himself.”

“…”

“The missing people within the Tower, the Ignition Sealing Array completely covering the crater, the wizards’ testimonies about the day feeling long… if we put those together, the answer is probably above this.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” Evelyn tilted her head.

“You’re saying there’s a way to find out what Gionis is hiding at this point?”

At her words, Lennok grinned, placing a hand on Evelyn’s shoulder.

“I have a plan.”

The very next day after the furnace explosion incident, Evelyn led the agents she had brought with her and immediately left the Magic Tower.

She had accepted Gionis’s offer, made just before the accident, and began investigating the caves near the volcanic zone.

Given the scale of the explosion, the justification was to acknowledge the importance of checking the nearby caves and inspect the outside.

Gionis initially feigned concern for her health but quickly accepted her proposal.

The only guests remaining in this vast Tower were Mauser, who was assisting with the situation in the furnace control room, and Lennok, who kept visiting the infirmary, feigning an unhealed injury.

Walking through the chaotic corridors of the Magic Tower, Lennok fell into thought.

‘The wizard I met in the practice area said the day felt too long. It’s quite… a suspicious phenomenon to just overlook.’

Considering that the sun appears to set faster between mountains or valleys, a day feeling long doesn’t fit the Magic Tower’s environment.

Especially if a wizard whose internal clock was quite accurate felt that way.

Furthermore, the sense of déjà vu Lennok felt when projecting the structure of the Ignition Sealing Array, the barrier covering the entire crater.

‘The upper part of the hemispherical barrier was wide open. At first, I thought it was simply a measure to introduce outside air, but now that I think about it…’

Perhaps it was a measure to prevent ‘something’ located at the top of the barrier from being intercepted by the Ignition Sealing Array.

Once his thoughts reached that point, the conclusion was instantaneous.

Above the five-pronged Magic Tower. Something was hidden in the sky above the crater, where updrafts were created by ash, dust, and hot air.