Although Myuron's standing corpse was put away, the natives couldn't hide as they were doing the ritual to uncover the mirror.
To them, getting the mirror in the right hands was more important than their own lives. Jin and Murakan couldn't hide as well as they had to defend the natives from an ambush.
"…It seems the pillar has activated the rune because of those outsiders with the crimson-people."
"It's possible that the pillar already died to them. We should encounter them carefully, vice pillar."
"Those men probably have reinforcements holding the pillar hostage."
Jin used Myulta's Rune to block his face, and Murakan used a mask for his. They looked like Myuron's killers at first sight.
Looking down at the culprits, Midor Elner stared with a murderous glare.
"If the pillar—No. If Myuron died because of them… I will give them something far more painful than death."
Midor clenched and gritted his teeth.
Jin was too far to listen in on their conversation, but he felt the hostility despite the distance.
'Six dragons and about thirty magicians. Shit. I expected it, but seeing it in person is exhilarating.'
They had enough to face an entire nation.
However, they were only faced with about thirty defenseless natives, an internally wounded Jin, and a washed black dragon.
"Phew… Well, they came before the runt could come back. That runt… I hope he didn't fail."
Looking up at the dragons and magicians, Murakan was also very nervous.
"""O Great Kullam…"""
On the other hand, the natives muttered their god's name. Standing in a circle, they concentrated on their ritual and ignored everyone else in sight.
With transcending will, they suppressed their fear and focused on the task at hand. And with their eyes closed, they recited their ancient scriptures, which were all destroyed centuries ago.
Although they were faced with a life-threatening danger, the ones who led the ritual emitted an eerie divine energy.
"Heh. Their little religion helps them at times like this since they could just rely on their god for protection. On that note, do you want to create a Church of Solderet with me? 'The Shadow Brotherhood'. Name sounds fine."
"Seeing that you can still joke around in this situation, it seems this fight is winnable."
"No, we're fucked. The natives are bound to die anyway, and neither can I guarantee our escape. Do you have another Orgal's Pendant or something?"
"You think?"
"Then make a decision. Quick. Do we let those natives die and then run away, or do we attempt to fight those guys and die honorably? The former doesn't have a good chance like the latter, though."
He was not joking.
Murakan evaluated the situation after observing the opposing forces. They could never win the battle.
'Shit. This would have been nothing if I were in my prime. Temar, you motherfucker. The heart you stabbed thousands of years ago is still aching.'
Jin thought for a second before shaking his head.
"We came all the way here, so we can't just give up on them. Let's try to stall a little longer."
"What? How the hell would we be able to stall for time? Once they start to cast spells, it's over."
"But they haven't yet. Those guys aren't in a position to just strike us. They don't know about Myuron's current state, and they might think that we're keeping him hostage."
As Jin said, Midor and the other magicians knew nothing regarding Myuron's whereabouts.
'If they were certain of his death, they would have attacked immediately. However, since that's not the case, they're calculating all of the possibilities.'
On top of that, Jin thought that the magicians wouldn't barrage the ground with advanced spells to ravage the land.
Furthermore, even if they thought Myuron died, they needed to deal with retrieving his corpse.
Flap…!
With the magicians on their back, the six dragons began to descend.
"Is there a dragon you know? They're all fire dragons."
"Nope. They're all youngins that became active while I was asleep. And they're not fire dragons but crimson dragons. A subgroup of fire dragons. They must be Fire Dragon Kadun's underlings."
The dragons of the Seventh Tower of Magicians were not guardian dragons but Kadun's underlings. It meant that, among the magicians, none were contractors.
However, that didn't mean that they weren't strong.
Knowing this fact, Jin evaluated Midor, who was slowly approaching them alone.
'He's strong… He's on the same level as Myuron. Maybe stronger.'
Although Midor was concealing his mana, Jin could feel his power as a fellow magician.
'Additionally, the other magicians are trusting him. He's closing the gap against a knight, and no one is stopping him.'
Clip, clop…
With the natives behind his back, Jin met eyes with Midor.
"I am the Zipfels' Seventh Tower of Magicians' vice pillar, Midor Elner. Where is our pillar?"
A name Jin never heard of even in his past life.
"No idea."
He answered carelessly, and Midor shook his head.
"I don't know why you guys would go after him. I guess his disgusting personality elicited your hate…? Or are you the Runcandels' dogs?"
"I have no reason to answer you. But how did you know that we attacked Myuron?"
Jin asked as if he didn't know, and surprisingly, Midor didn't seem to hide the facts about the rune.
"There are runes that our pillar can activate if and when he's in danger. When activated, the crystal ball in the Seventh Tower turns red."
Revealing the pillar's runes so easily meant that Midor had no intention of sparing Jin nor his acquaintances.
"I will not ask you to take off your mask or discard your weapon. However, I only wish for you to answer my question truthfully. Is our pillar… still alive?"
Saying those words, Midor's eyes wavered with sadness underneath his murderous glare.
For a while, Jin did not answer, and Midor asked him once more.
"Please answer me. I am asking as a family member. I'm sure you have a family as well. Only if you… answer me truthfully will I—as the vice pillar of the Seventh Tower of Magicians—solemnly swear that, after killing you, I will leave your family alone."
Midor showed his tenderness, and Jin gave a bitter smile in return.
"I agree. A family member dying or getting hurt is a painful experience. However, Zipfel magician, look over there."
Jin pointed towards his left.
"What does that look like? Graves. The graves of the natives slaughtered by your prideful pillar. And look behind me. There are about thirty fellow humans who lost their families just like you."
"Do not compare those pathetic mongrels to our pillar!"
Midor's face wrinkled with anger.
"I'm sure you are not simply comparing our great pillar to those pathetic beings! Does that mean you attacked our pillar not because of hate, but because you wanted to save those people?!"
"That's right."
"…Our pillar is not here right now… is he?"
Jin nodded.
"Myuron is dead."
Midor began to cry.
Tears streamed down his face. Jin and Murakan felt the air turning heavy.
The magician then began to emit his mana.
"I will commemorate his death with your screams and blood. And I'll let you watch me slaughter those pathetic dogs. Magicians of the Seventh Tower, heed me. Capture those animals. I will not allow any more deaths."
As soon as he finished speaking…
Boom!
'Huh?'
There was an explosion right next to Jin.
Biiiiiiiiiiiiiii…!
It filled his ears with a sharp ring, hurting his eardrums. Soon after, Jin heard an ear-ripping screech.
He knew which spell Midor prepared.
'Spatial Explosion? Only an extremely talented magician contracted with Sheenu can use this spell…'
And there was only one person who fit those requirements.
Kelliark Zipfel.
Before Jin's regression, he heard stories about the Zipfel patriarch often while walking the path of a magician. That same Kelliark Zipfel could cause explosions to occur anywhere—just with a twirl of his finger.
People said that he was similar to a god giving judgment whenever he cast Spatial Explosion.
'But why is he…?'
There was no time to think.
'He said "family member". Is he Kelliark's son? Even so, is it even possible to share Sheenu's abilities?'
Then, the second explosion occurred.
This time, to Jin's right. However, he couldn't dodge it. Even if his body were in top condition, he still wouldn't be able to dodge it. His internal injuries hurt him too much.
Biiiiiiiiiii—
Another screeching sound.
Myulta's Rune could completely stop a 7-star knight's strike, but it could not block out sound.
Midor identified that Jin's helm was a masterpiece, and he selected the most effective way to defeat him.
If he had mana left to summon Tess, then he could create an absolute domain with the phoenix's blue flames to stop the Spatial Explosions. Since Tess's flames couldn't be affected by Sheenu's flames.
However, summoning the phoenix was impossible due to the mana overflow.
Looking around, Jin saw Murakan barely dodging the attacks.
The natives were not being attacked, but it was because Midor ordered the magicians to capture them alive.
Seeing as the natives wouldn't stop their ritual despite being in the midst of battle, they would eventually fall like flies. There was no need to attack them in the first place, since they wouldn't be able to escape anyway.
"Did he get injured after fighting our pillar? He acted like he was fine when he was talking to me, so I'll at least praise him for that. I am relieved our pillar didn't die from his own incompetence… I shall keep our promise."
Jin couldn't hear Midor's voice due to all the explosions.
Moreover, he had to throw his body around to dodge the explosive spells and lessen the risk of triggering mana overflow. Blood visibly streamed out through the breaths of the helm.
'The kid's gonna die at this rate! That bastard… How the fuck are we supposed to stall for time against these crazy guys?!'
Murakan decided his next move.
'I'll transform into my true form then do whatever I can for the kid's survival. Shit. One wrong move and I'll have to say my last goodbye.'
All of his memories flashed in his mind.
He smiled, remembering the past six years that he spent with Jin. He felt more nostalgic recalling those memories than his experiences as Temar's guardian dragon.
Swooop!
A white dimensional portal suddenly opened in the middle of the ruins.
And from it emerged something massive.
A white toad.
As well as a silver-haired woman and a younger girl on top of it.
"Hmm, it looks like I'm not late."
The Master of the Hidden Palace, Talaris Endorma.
—————