Chapter 693: The Witch and the Magic Tower (7)

“The Life Torch of the Blaiver Magic Tower’s Flame Pillar has been extinguished.”

The darkened office, as evening drew near.

A chair sat in the middle of the room, thick with dust as if unused for a very long time.

A woman perched on its edge, her head bowed, watched the fading sunset.

Through a hastily connected communication line on the floor, only the gruff voice of a man echoed continuously.

“Judging by the lack of field reports from Malacia, Third Seat, who accompanied them, she is presumed to have died during the operation. We are currently reconsidering the personnel to be dispatched to the field.”

The silent woman asked.

“What’s the word from headquarters?”

“They want the schedule moved up as much as possible,” the man replied.

“It seems a considerable number of factions are feeling a sense of crisis after the Eyes of Blue’s fifth Lighthouse was confirmed to bypass part of the Central Front’s curtain.”

“……”

“I hear JeByeok, Yanikus Barbaria, has been guarding the Lighthouse recently. It seems some are already proposing negotiations, conditional on borrowing the Lighthouse’s power.”

“Hmm…”

“We’ll need to complete the satellite as quickly as possible and succeed in the demonstration if we’re to gain control of the warlords.”

The satellite was to be launched from Vulcan to observe the Central Front.

The mind and body of a talented wizard who had excelled in war were used as material and processed into an engine, and a deal had been struck with a Magic Tower to secure a power source.

It was a gamble involving tremendous sacrifice. But if successful, it could drastically alter the power dynamics of forces outside the Central Front.

Everything had been going smoothly.

Until the Blaiver Magic Tower’s Flame Pillar fled from the Magic Tower, taking that ‘power source’ with her.

“What did the Magic Tower Lord say?” the woman asked.

“…I was only told to handle unforeseen matters autonomously.”

The woman let out a cold, bitter laugh at the man’s words.

“Her own disciple is ruining a project worth hundreds of billions of cells, and she still babbles about not getting directly involved?”

“You know where the Magic Tower Lord is currently supplying power, don’t you?” the man said, sounding troubled.

“Without him, the first gate leading to Ars Nova would be completely shut. We can’t act immediately.”

“……”

The Magic Tower Lord of Blaiver Magic Tower. A grand sorcerer who had transcended humanity and hierarchy with pyrokinesis-type unique magic.

Contrary to his reputation for wielding hellish, searing flames, the Magic Tower Lord was widely known as a cruel and cunning individual.

His volunteering to supply power to the gate leading to the central city seemed like a self-inflicted loss at the time.

But now, he occupied a position that no one could easily replace.

This allowed the Blaiver Magic Tower to intervene and profit from the front lines, while also securing a peculiar neutral stance.

This was also why they could enter the satellite manufacturing business by dealing with the Magic Tower, but now that a problem had arisen, that very fact was holding them back.

Silently, the woman listened to the man’s communication, then, after a long pause, she spoke again.

“Starkton. Do you remember how long it’s been since we returned to this city?”

“…It has been quite a long time spent on the Central Front, indeed,” the man, called Starkton, replied.

“I’d say at least fifteen years, if I had to guess.”

“Yes. So much time has passed since we were active in this city.”

“……”

“Look here. This reserve office used by headquarters. It hasn’t been properly maintained.”

The woman swept a finger through the dust accumulated between the armrests of the chair and gave a bitter laugh.

“I thought it would remain the same over time, but I was mistaken. All the caretakers we left in the city must have thought we wouldn’t return.”

“…Deputy Director Peshia?”

“I don’t believe in fixing people.”

As Peshia slowly rose from the chair, congealed blood, now sticky, trailed her shadow.

The blood flowed to her feet and then climbed the darkening office window, staining the glass crimson.

“So, everything old and broken will be discarded. Be it humans or objects.”

Behind Peshia, who had turned her gaze, dozens of corpses were piled like a mountain.

All of them were cleanly severed as if by an invisible blade, their lives extinguished.

These were the administrators entrusted with asset management while Deadrise’s main force moved on the Central Front.

Peshia had called them all as soon as she returned and massacred them.

Starkton, belatedly realizing the meaning of Peshia’s words, let out a small gasp.

“Headquarters will surely reprimand you, Deputy Director, if they find out.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Peshia laughed.

“How long has it been since Lord Bajour ascended? Why should I stand by and let things turn out like this?”

“……”

“As long as I’m back here, I won’t overlook a single mistake.”

Clang!!

She kicked the chair, shattering the office window, and the blood pooled below the old building dripped down.

A strange sight, as if the entire building was shedding tears of regret.

“How long did you say we need until the satellite is completed?”

“…About a week, I’d say.”

“Cut it down to three days. For every day it’s delayed, I’ll take the head of the person in charge.”

Reaching casually among the corpses, she pulled out a dazzlingly shining spear and grasped it.

The blade was so long it far exceeded Peshia’s height, seemingly about to pierce the ceiling.

A colossal spear, impossibly long, looking difficult to wield even with two hands.

Despite being buried among corpses and blood, the blade remained spotless, without a speck of stain or blood.

It was a clean spearhead, as if it had absorbed all the vitality and blood from the pile of bodies.

Peshia lightly twisted her wrist, gripping the spear shaft in a reverse grip, and spoke.

“Within three days, kill Tatiana Chiglet and secure the Phoenix Hall. The heads of the remaining relevant parties will be hung on the satellite and launched.”

“……”

“We’ll have to show them clearly this time, won’t we?”

Peshia’s eyes gleamed eerily as she ran her other hand along the spear blade.

“So that just as we haven’t forgotten this city, they won’t forget us.”

Click!

The thick iron door opened, and a man with green hair walked out.

Lennok saw the man, his hair disheveled as he climbed into the bar, and asked.

“How was it?”

“Easier than I thought, actually,” Killeyan, the pure-blood werewolf, said, lighting a cigarette Lennok offered him.

“He’s a smart guy, so he gives up quickly. He answers obediently when you ask.”

Leaning against the bar counter, he smiled and puffed out smoke.

“However, he only answers the specific questions asked, trying to avoid pain, so I came up for a moment, thinking I needed to know more to ask better questions.”

Killeyan, a werewolf affiliated with the military supply company Dyke Corp., was an experienced professional adept at harsh tasks like torture.

Lennok, instead of creating a grim atmosphere himself, had instructed Killeyan, an expert, to interrogate the captured Halfman.

He had thought he might not be able to reach him, as it had been quite a while, but Killeyan rushed to District 49 as soon as he heard the news.

That was probably because the news Lennok mentioned was too significant for Dyke Corp. to ignore.

“Van, is that news really true?” Killeyan asked, cautiously eyeing Lennok.

“Is Deadrise really returning?”

Dyke Corp. had long been actively involved in the underworld arms industry with Lennok’s help.

For them, who profited handsomely from selling illegally manufactured firearms in Vulcan’s back alleys, Deadrise’s return would naturally be a major concern.

It wasn’t strange that Killeyan had rushed to the bar immediately upon hearing the news and cooperated quietly.

“The circumstances strongly suggest it’s true. However, their main force isn’t returning directly,” Lennok calmly explained.

“It seems only a few core executives have returned to Vulcan for some kind of project.”

“Names? I need names to interrogate him more specifically.”

“That’s….”

“Peshia Grisbern.”

Wrapped in bandages and healing spells, Tatiana, who had been silently leaning against the counter, spoke.

“That’s the only name I heard.”

Tatiana’s quiet mention. But the reactions of the others who heard the name were entirely different.

“…Peshia? Peshia is back?”

Killeyan mumbled in disbelief, and Jenny’s face grew more serious.

Even Jordan, who had been silently listening, seemed unable to maintain his composure.

“Is she famous?”

“You don’t know her? Oh, right, I see…” Killeyan retorted to Lennok, looking even more incredulous, then nodded as if he understood.

“Sometimes I forget what kind of wizard you are. You only entered the city after Deadrise left, didn’t you?”

“She’s the Ghost Princess, well-known as the most ruthless in Deadrise,” Jenny explained instead.

“Ghost Princess?”

“She uses various ghostly possession abilities, and she’s also very famous as a killer who enjoys taking lives,” Tatiana added.

“Hiring the Cerberus Annihilation Squad, a band of killers, was entirely to her taste. Peshia loves people like that. Perhaps…”

At that, the others’ gazes naturally turned towards Lennok.

Lennok, realizing the meaning of their looks, silently furrowed his brow.

“She might be interested in me?”

“Well, not necessarily, but…”

Hadn’t it been a long time since the rumor of the blood-crazed wizard became more famous than the person himself?

At Lennok’s reaction, the others subtly averted their gaze.

Jenny cleared her throat and said.

“You probably aren’t completely unfamiliar with her. Beck Clinton’s master was Peshia.”

“…Beck Clinton? You mean that man from the Cigar Bang Gang?” Lennok immediately remembered the name and retorted.

The powerful spearman he had encountered shortly after arriving in this city.

A member of the Cigar Bang, who had some acquaintance with Jenny, and a superhuman who died tied to a clock tower after a battle with Lennok.

Did Peshia Grisbern herself teach him that combat style, which involved receiving the power of various animal spirits, called ancestral spirits?

“I see. So that’s why Beck knew you…”

If Peshia was one of the companions who had been with Kaiser since way back, and she took Beck as her disciple, it wasn’t strange that she had an acquaintance with Jenny.

What happened between Jenny, left behind after Kaiser’s death, and the Deadrise executives, was unknown, but it had to be assumed that they didn’t completely avoid contact with Jenny, Kaiser’s granddaughter.

“Not only does she kill people daily, but she doesn’t discriminate between criminals and civilians, so many people know her name,” Killeyan added, clearing his throat.

“In the past, even when everyone knew it was Peshia’s doing, no one could do anything about it.”

“She wasn’t like that originally,” Jordan, who had been silent, suddenly interjected.

“It means nothing to say it now, but she changed greatly after suffering the karma of her own actions.”

“……”

“I’m not trying to defend Peshia. However…”

Jordan shook his head silently, his expression clouded. The others too, said nothing in response.

Jordan was one of the elder members who had been with not only Jenny but also Kaiser during his lifetime.

He must have known the Deadrise executives who had been with Kaiser for a long time.

But the way Jordan spoke of Peshia seemed to indicate more than just a passing acquaintance.

“But I can’t believe she’d be the first to return… I thought it would be difficult for her to come back after leaving like that,” Jenny muttered in surprise, and Tatiana raised her gaze.

Tiredly, she touched the bandages wrapped around her body and asked.

“It was quite some time after I encountered her on the Central Front. What happened in Vulcan?”

“Just before Deadrise advanced to the Central Front, they had a major clash with the Antares Mercenary Group,” Jenny replied.

“During that process, Peshia had a one-on-one showdown with Antares… and she lost.”

“……”

“I heard her spine was completely broken, and she was on the verge of death. If she’s back, she must have completed her treatment. Or…”

“She’s confident she can defeat Antares if she meets him again.”

Lennok’s final words plunged the room into silence.

They had all viscerally realized how dangerous Peshia Grisbern was.

Killeyan sighed softly, nodded, and rose from his seat again.

“For now, I’ll go beat some more information out of this Halfman guy. I know about Peshia too, so I can cross-reference the facts.”

Only after Killeyan disappeared into the bar’s basement did Jenny turn her gaze to Tatiana.

“Now I’d like a proper explanation. Why are those guys back? And what’s your relationship with them?”

Lennok turned his gaze.

“Should I do it?”

“…No. I will.”

Tatiana exhaled heavily, then began to explain the events in detail.

The fact that the Eyes of Blue were rapidly reorganizing the power structure outside the Central Front.

That Deadrise had allied with the Blaiver Magic Tower to create a satellite using humans as material.

And that Tatiana had broken the contract and fled, despite the Magic Tower having promised to supply the materials and power source.

“I see. The Lighthouse from the Eyes of Blue…”

“……”

As Jenny muttered in wonder, Lennok silently averted his gaze.

“I thought their lineage was completely cut off after the previous Lighthouse Keeper’s death, but their actions are far more proactive now.”

“They’re also under severe scrutiny because of it. The reason this whole situation occurred in the first place is…” Tatiana nodded.

“So I tried to delay the satellite’s construction by stealing the Phoenix Hall. Even if nothing else is needed for engine production, this item is absolutely essential.”

Because the newly constructed Lighthouse from the Eyes of Blue extended its unique ability all the way to the Central Front, other organizations, wary of it, sequentially initiated various actions.

Was this what Evelyn had spoken of regarding Lapis’s unique ability?

But Lennok had never imagined that the repercussions of something started by the Eyes of Blue would reach this far.

“Van, what are you going to do?” Jenny turned to Lennok.

“If you intervene, I’ll help you, but the company and the mercenary group can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Well… they’re all out at sea right now.”

“……”

At Lennok’s silent gaze, Jenny coughed slightly, looking a bit abashed.

“Ahem, we plan to rotate them once the distribution network is normalized. We’ll hire specialized personnel once the business system is established. But them being away right now… No, I’m telling you, the income from this side lately is no joke!”

“I didn’t say anything.”

As Jenny, feeling unnecessarily guilty, ranted on, Jordan beside her chuckled softly.

Tatiana merely gave a wry smile and shook her head.

Lennok, having organized his thoughts, spoke again.

“Tatiana. Could I possibly see that item called the Phoenix Hall first?”

“……”

“I hear that item was originally planned to be used as the satellite’s power source.”

Lennok said, looking up.

“Even if anti-gravity technology is adopted, launching a satellite far enough to bring the Central Front into view would require incredibly powerful energy. It must be an artifact with immense output.”

He spoke casually, but the distance from Vulcan to the Central Front was incredibly vast and difficult to describe in words.

If a satellite launched from Vulcan could observe the Central Front, it would have to be launched almost to the very edge of the Outer Sea.

In this world, where humans cannot venture beyond that sea, it was akin to challenging an immense miracle itself.

The fact that Tatiana had stolen the item alone, and had kept it hidden all this time, was hard to believe.

That’s why Lennok intended to verify the item called the Phoenix Hall first.

“The bar is surrounded by 888 types of overlapping security barriers.” Lennok said, as if persuading her.

“As long as you show it in front of me, I can manage it so its aura and direction aren’t leaked to the outside, so you don’t have to worry.”

“888 types? When did you put up so many security barriers?”

“Jenny. ‘So many’?” Jordan gently chided, while Tatiana nodded and stood up.

“It’s not difficult. This was what I intended to do from the beginning, wasn’t it?”

“……”

“Let’s try to do it right this time, without interference.”

Tatiana smiled, brought the knife to the back of her hand again, and drew a magic circle on the floor with her blood.

This time, Lennok also assisted her with his will-thought, completely cutting off external interference.

Like they were supported by an invisible force, hot crimson blood gathered one by one in the air.

The brightly glowing red blood coalesced and floated before Tatiana, then began to transform into a specific shape.

“…This is.”

A small, red crystal that could fit in one hand.

Tatiana held the crystal in both hands, stepped forward very carefully, and showed it to everyone.

“This is the Phoenix Hall, left by the former Blaiver Magic Tower Lord.”

Its beautiful and intricate form, resembling the head of a small bird, was striking.

Inside the crystal, a beautiful crimson will-thought spun ceaselessly, as if flames were alive within it.

The Phoenix’s Palace. Fitting its name, the crystal resembling a firebird’s head was elegant even to Lennok.

“Could you explain the Phoenix Hall’s abilities and uses in more detail?”

Lennok stepped forward and reached out his hand towards the Phoenix Hall just as he spoke.

“One should first understand the meaning of the phoenix to estimate the satellite’s construction location—”

[Master of pyrokinesis-type unique magic identified.]

The firebird held in Tatiana’s hand spoke.

The firebird, now writhing as if alive, stared directly at Lennok.

The bar fell into a quiet silence. Tatiana broke out in a cold sweat.

“…Huh?”

[Hostility factor recognized. 9th Tower Lord succession conditions met.]

“W-wait. This is…!!”

[Initiating handover.]

Whoosh!!

At that moment, a burst of flames erupted from the center of the bar and instantly poured down over Lennok’s head.