"Wow…"
The exclamation echoed softly through the lighthouse's mana-filled hallways.
"It's amazing" muttered Leo and Carlos as they bolted down the winding corridors.
The Altar priests were chasing them as if they were intruders, but in fact, they had just seen a window and climbed through. The small window was open, saying, 'come in', though Lia never told them to go inside the lighthouse in the first place.
As soon as they entered the building, Carlos's eyes brightened. The interior, made of only Snowflake Obsidian, was very peculiar. The ceiling, floor, and walls were blue without any blemishes, while the lights and decorations that illuminate the darkness were white.
Deculein's energy filled every inch.
"Carlos! Carlos! Look here!"
Their mission was reconnaissance, but Leo kept sneaking around. It was his animal instincts that led him more than his interest.
"What now?"
But his senses were as accurate as he was foolish, so maybe there was something important.
"There! Over there!"
Leo ran off, and Carlos followed.
"Here."
Leo stopped in front of a door. As he was about to say something, the door opened first with a creak. As if telling them to enter.
"…"
"Oh, it opened."
Goosebumps rose in Carlos's arms, but Leo, without suspecting a thing, stepped inside. Carlos startled and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Hey. Don't move without thinking."
"Look at this, Carlos."
There were paintings of various landscapes hanging across the wall. Carlos's eyes widened.
There were people in each of the paintings.
"…They must have been imprisoned by Deculein."
Leo and Carlos walked slowly and examined each one, feeling quite overwhelmed.
"Huh?"
But suddenly, among those many paintings, they found something a little different.
"…What's this?"
Carlos's brow furrowed as Leo's eyes twinkled with suspicion. It was none other than—
"Deculein?"
The enemy of this era and the villain who wanted to destroy the continent. A portrait of him hung on the other side of the wall.
—What are you doing?!
Lia's sharp voice emanating from the crystal ball pierced their ears.
—Get out right now! Why did you go in as you pleased-
"Lia. It's amazing here."
Leo cut her off. The image of this gallery was reflected through the crystal ball.
"I think people are locked up here."
—… Haah.
Lia let out a sigh and said.
—You did a good job. Wait for now. I'm going in too…
Click-
Communication was cut off, but it wasn't intentional. A large hand came down from above their heads and took the crystal ball away.
"…Uh?"
"Huh?"
The two children looked up, tilting their heads innocently as a heavy shadow cast over them.
"Kids in this place."
"…"
The man looked down at them with a smile. Carlos and Leo grew a little nervous.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Jaylon."
A knight who was called a giant of the continent but was imprisoned under the Imperial Palace after he cooperated with the Altar. Even though Leo and Carlos were young, they were familiar with his name and knew his strength. He was self-proclaimed to be the next strongest after Zeit.
"Syrio. What should I do with these guys?"
Jaylon glanced at a blonde knight leaning against one wall of the gallery. Iliade's Syrio flicked his blonde hair back.
"What should I do?"
Syrio asked someone else. Someone was in the darkness of this space, and Carlos and Leo looked around for them.
There he was, his eyes resembling a bird of prey. Barely more than a skeleton, with only skin attached to bones. His name, which had lost all his old ambitions—
"Glitheon."
* * *
"Got it! Got it! finally got it, am I a genius, or what?"
Louina was shouting 'Eureka' over and over.
"What did you get?!"
On the other hand, Yeriel screamed back while holding the steering wheel.
Vroom—!
The Yukline sedan was running through a dark forest road.
"Oh, I'm so excited. Go faster! Hurry up!"
"Damn!"
Vrooooom—–!
The sedan rocketed up a steep hill. Thanks to Midas' Hand given to the sedan by Deculein, it was agile and fast even for a car.
"How much time do you think it will take to reach Annihilation?!" asked Louina
"It'll take one day."
The performance of this car was so perfect that Yeriel admired it while driving. It was annoying; only he had driven such a nice car until now.
So from now on, we have to ride together. We have to share it. One day I ride, another day you do, until we become old.
"Then go quickly!"
"I'm asking what you've found out!"
"I figured out what this spell is going to do!"
"…So?" asked Yeriel, trying to calm her pounding heart.
"He is not a villain."
"…"
At that moment, Yeriel stepped on the accelerator.
Vrooooom—!
The sedan soared. At some point, the road disappeared, and a forest path replaced it. Many obstacles stood in the way. However, they didn't matter. Yeriel put a barrier over the sedan and crashed into them, plowing through even the trees.
"But there is one problem."
Louina's expression grew serious again.
"What I found out, in the end, others will find out too. It's just a matter of time."
Louina turned to Yeriel. Yeriel, concentrating on driving, kept her eyes focused ahead.
"If the wizards who hate Deculein find out as well…"
"Who, for example?" asked Yeriel
Louina pondered quietly before answering.
"Someone like Glitheon."
* * *
…Glitheon was looking around Quay's gallery. As he captured the landscape of each painting in his eyes, he sneered.
"Was Iliade's ambition only for this?"
His daughter, Sylvia, was stuck inside. Iliade's only hope, was consigned to being a nanny in a painting. She wasted her talents in caring for the poor commoners and worthless people who weren't necessary for the continent…
"Is this also Deculein's fault?"
Glitheon wanted Deculein to become Sylvia's firewood. He wanted Sylvia to burn him to ash and become the greatest wizard ever.
─It was a contract.
"That sly bastard…"
However, now Sylvia was being taken advantage of for Deculein's benefit.
"What about these two, Glitheon?"
Syrio asked. Leo and Carlos raised their mana now. Jaylon looked at them as if they were cute.
Glitheon turned his gaze.
"Are you going to follow my will?"
"Yeah. Haha, I'm a knight of Iliade, right? And you saved me from the Imperial prison. Of course, I will."
"…"
Glitheon stared at Sirio without saying a word.
"You are a servant of the Altar."
"Yes, well..."
"Then tell the Altar priests that Deculein will betray them."
Glitheon held out a bound scroll. It was Deculein's Lighthouse Analysis that he wrote himself.
"I found out the true meaning of Deculein's lighthouse."
He interpreted and analyzed Deculein's lighthouse with his strength, and in the end, he obtained perfect insight into his will.
"Is that so?"
Syrio took the analysis, but he didn't open it. After all, as a knight, he wouldn't understand.
"What kind of betrayal?"
"…It's simple. The God of the Altar wants to destroy this continent and the souls of its inhabitants, right?"
"Yes. It's a complete replay" answered Syrio.
Glitheon grinned.
"Deculein doesn't want that. He's trying to preserve the humans here."
Because of that, Sylvia was being wasted. Because of all those useless things…
Glitheon clenched his fists. Indeed, Yukline and Iliade have always been opposites. Their wizard families could never mix and ultimately were bound to confront each other.
"I would rather have everything destroyed."
Syrio quietly nodded.
"I'm not going to let him do what he wants."
"…Hmm."
It was very lucky for Syrio, a henchman of the Altar. But he was curious.
"Is it just because Sylvia couldn't become an Archmage?"
With a grin, Glitheon shook his head.
"The meaning of the Iliade is ambition, and ambition is flame."
He paused for a moment and let out a low sigh. An empty sigh flowed from an empty body. Seeing him like that, Syrio felt it: Glitheon of Iliade had already burned down to ash.
"I, Glitheon, have lost that ambition, but Sylvia had the talent to make the family's dream come true."
Glitheon clenched his teeth, a fire blooming over his palm.
"She could have been the sun, but now…"
He looked around the gallery full of paintings. Epherene seized the Floating Island with her strength and had already become an archmage, while Sylvia was wasting herself in there, preserving useless humans.
"She has become something like a fireplace to warm someone up."
Even though he said it himself, the analogy seemed right. Glitheon burst into a sad chuckle.
"Iliade should be eons of fire…"
Whoosh—!
In an instant, the flames in Glitheon's grasp spread through his body.
"Sylvia is content with only being that."
Remorse and sorrow colored his voice.
"That child is not my daughter."
With that, Glitheon prepared the grand magic he envisioned.
"Damn continent. Fucking Deculein."
Through his own body, heart, blood vessels, muscles, and organs, through all the mana, magic, and knowledge his mind accumulated.
"I want you to perish."
To become a fire for eons and set this lighthouse ablaze. To cut down the passages of humanity that Deculein wanted to preserve and confine them outside the world.
"…According to the will of the Altar."
With his body burning like a supernova, Glitheon muttered. He softly closed his eyes and…