C419. Central Magic Tower (3)
Arm Spitter completely trusted the words of The One Who Stands Tall. There were two reasons for this.
The first: The One Who Stands Tall had no reason to lie to him.
From the beginning, Arm Spitter belonged to the faction of The One Who Gazes into the Abyss. There was no need to convince him with deception: he would have protected the Star Eater anyway.
And the second reason…
He had heard that what The One Who Stands Tall said came directly from The One Who Gazes into the Abyss.
Of course, even Arm Spitter had a small—very small—doubt.
It was natural.
The Star Eater's ability, no matter how much he thought about it, was absurd.
Even if it were different from what they had heard, that wouldn't change the fact that he would continue to protect him. But even so, the curiosity was real.
And even if the Star Eater's ability wasn't true…
As long as they drew the gazes of others to a single point, it wouldn't be difficult to ambush and eliminate at least one. For that reason, Arm Spitter had opened his Gate.
And that was where he saw it.
The strength of the Star Eater.
—That is impossible…—
The murmur of the Burning Tree reached Arm Spitter's ears. The irony was that Arm Spitter himself, who had opened the void, shared exactly the same impression.
Yes, he knew it beforehand.
But knowing it is one thing and seeing it with your own eyes is another.
"…Ha."
An incredulous laugh escaped Arm Spitter.
Right after, the void he had opened closed.
[…]
[…]
The Divine Bloods looked at each other with stunned expressions, without saying a word.
"We didn't see that wrong, did we?"
"Of course not. That was clearly the Poison Eater's power."
"…Then does that mean it is possible to hand over the power of a Divine Blood to a simple creature of this world?"
"Then what The One Who Stands Tall said… was completely true."
For a moment, they conversed with expressions that seemed unable to distinguish between dream and reality.
"B-but… what motive would he have to share that power with us…?"
The Burning Tree spoke again with doubt.
"…I am afraid that is not the case."
The Piercing Eye denied flatly.
"Why do you say that?"
"With his ability… he will obtain the Achievements of the other Divine Bloods anyway. And when he ascends higher, what was obtained from below will lose relevance."
Without realizing it, he was no longer calling him "Star Eater" but "Him".
At his words, the Burning Tree closed his mouth.
Because, in truth, he had also started to think the same thing.
That is why…
"It seems we will have to make a new decision."
Finally, the Burning Tree made a determination.
"…Could you give me the chance to pay my respects to him?"
"It is a pity. I have no such authority. In fact, I myself have never met Him directly."
"Why?"
"According to what I heard from The One Who Stands Tall, He does not wish to reveal his identity."
"Then, what should I—?"
"Well… I do not think that is something you should worry about so much."
"…Why do you say that?"
"After all, proving to him that you wish to follow him isn't that difficult, right?" added Arm Spitter.
And without saying another word, he disappeared into the depths of the sea.
"…Hmm. Now that I think about it, we aren't the only ones heading to the kingdom."
The Piercing Eye murmured.
And the Burning Tree, as if he had understood something, nodded.
"…I see."
Three weeks had already passed since Alon Palatio's arrival at the Central Magic Tower.
At first, he never thought he would stay so long.
But after hearing a clue about conceptual intention from Heinkel, he decided to learn some magic and stayed in the tower.
Together with Heinkel and Penia, he began to study the wizards' magic in earnest.
That time now totaled three weeks.
"Phew…"
Alon let out a sigh.
He was tired.
It wasn't that researching while sitting was so exhausting.
The problem was the magic.
Heinkel, with her incredible intelligence, had understood the essence of the Phrases without difficulty. But even so, that didn't mean she could unravel the complete structure of the spells.
The same was true for Penia.
In the end, only Alon could execute magic, so throughout the entire investigation, he had to use spells over and over again, and that had him exhausted.
"Are you very tired?"
"A little, yes."
"Since your general mana is small, you must use Reverse Heaven constantly."
Penia nodded as if it were obvious.
"I wish that Sparrow guy was of some help."
"That is true."
At first, Alon never imagined he would suffer so much.
It was all because of Sparrow.
Even though he was trapped in a jewel, he was still a True Mage.
He thought he could explain the principles of the Phrases to him, but unfortunately, he did not receive his help.
In reality, it could be said that he was even less useful than Heinkel.
The reason:
«How can you not understand that?»
Because Sparrow was practically a "genius."
He skipped over the most necessary foundations and explained complex things as if they were obvious, and on top of that, he explained terribly poorly.
So Alon had soon given up on trying to receive his help.
"Well, it's fine anyway. The effort is bearing fruit."
"That is also true."
Despite the exhaustion, in these three weeks, they had made many advances.
"Now we have all the foundations settled."
"Exactly."
For three weeks, Alon reconstructed the foundations of magic—or rather, of the Phrases—from scratch.
It was more accurate to say that it was the first time he was doing it correctly.
Until now he had used Phrases, yes, but that was closer to a blessing than structured magic.
"If we continue like this for another three or four days, I will be able to execute at least one complete Phrase."
"Though we will have to strive harder."
"If I could use Phrases, it would be perfect…"
"Thank you for thinking so."
"Don't mention it. It's between us."
Penia smiled, and Alon did too.
But then:
"Alon."
"Evan."
Evan entered through the library door.
"Is the research going well?"
"So-so."
"I'm glad."
"Right. Where are Blackie and Basiliora?"
That same morning, to escape from Heinkel, Basiliora had hidden in the ring, and Blackie, bored, had gone out with Evan.
At the question, Evan shrugged.
"They are playing in the carriage outside. By the way, I have something to tell you."
"Is it about the Divine Bloods?"
"Well… that too, but there is other news."
"…Other?"
"Yes. It's about the Marquis's house—or rather, about Palantia."
Alon tilted his head.
He saw no reason for anything relevant to happen in Palantia.
But he remembered something, and murmured:
"Don't tell me it's about the castle."
"Oh, how did you know?"
"It was the only thing it could be. Has it been built already?"
The question seemed absurd: not even two months had passed since he gave the construction order.
Half was a joke.
The other half, because he had known that two Tower Master Mages had joined the project.
'Although I still don't know why they joined…'
Evan shook his head.
"No, it isn't finished."
"Then?"
"Well… how to explain it…?"
Evan hesitated for a moment and finally said:
"In short: they are just finishing the base."
"Faster than expected."
"And furthermore… the territory of Palantia is now called Southern District of Palantia."
"…Excuse me? What?"
The sentence threw him off.
"What does that mean, Southern District?"
"Literally that."
"But… how can that be? There is only one territory…"
Alon's mind stopped working for a moment.
Evan scratched his head and explained:
"The castle is so big that… well, it makes the rest look small."
Alon was left even more confused.
"And one more thing, about the Divine Bloods."
"Wait, but…"
Before he could process the previous matter, Evan continued.
Alon, resigned, decided to listen first.
"Fine, say it."
"Lately, there are frequent battles occurring between the new Divine Bloods."
"…Between themselves?"
"Yes."
Alon was surprised, but soon understood.
He had heard from The One Who Stands Tall that some Divine Bloods supported him.
"I see."
But just when he was about to nod…
"About eight individuals, approximately."
"…?"
The number left him stunned.
"Eight?"
"Yes."
"…Not two or three?"
"Well… the confirmed ones are eight."
An unthinkable amount.
'What is going on…?'
Doubt covered his face again.
At the same time.
In the city-state of Chronosax, in its capital Trilian…
The place seemed delicious to the Fury of the Whirlpool, a Divine Blood who had arrived by sea.
It was teeming with people.
And given the nature of his ability, a group that dense was perfect for turning them into tools with a single act of indoctrination.
That is why, before fulfilling the request of the Eternal Decayed One, he wanted to establish a small base in the area.
But before reaching the capital—
"Stop."
"…?"
An ancient voice resonated, and he turned his gaze.
"…Burning Tree?"
He had found the Burning Tree.
The Fury of the Whirlpool stood motionless for an instant, but then he understood.
"Ah… I see. You arrived earlier."
He formed a twisted smile with what looked like a shell. His expression was overflowing with assurance.
They had fallen in the same region of the southern empire, and he also knew why the Burning Tree was heading to the Allied United Kingdoms.
So…
"Since we have met, let us join forces. As you know, it doesn't matter how many of us gather: we only need to eliminate the Star Eater."
He offered an alliance naturally.
But—
"What stupidity are you saying?"
"…?"
The answer was cold, immediate.
"What did you say…?"
The Fury of the Whirlpool asked, confused.
The Burning Tree responded, inflamed:
"How dare you pronounce His name so lightly? Have you lost your sanity?"
His entire body burned with fury.
The Fury of the Whirlpool, instinctively nervous, tried to retort—
"What—? But when we fell to the world you said you were going to roast him alive, you said that—!"
"Shut up!"
He did not manage to finish the sentence.
"He and I are practically one. Attacking Him is attacking me. I, leader of the Star Roots, will not allow it!"
He shouted an organization name so absurd it seemed taken from a children's comic.
And yet…
The Fury of the Whirlpool felt a strange fear.
