Chapter 1: Master?

In the spring of Lagos Year 280, at the northern edge of the continent, on the hills of Aide, a massive, mysterious seed appeared.  

The seed resembled a human heart and even pulsed, radiating an ominous aura.  

When a brief spring rain fell, the seed took root and began to grow. 

The crimson plant soon became a towering tree, giving birth to a single being.  

With seven tails and black wings, it was both a miracle and a calamity.  

This creature, later called “Iskis,” gave birth to seven fragments. 

Each fragment took a different form, nesting across the continent and multiplying endlessly.  

The creatures born from these fragments were ferocious beasts driven by insatiable hunger.  

Armed with various forms, they devoured every living thing in their path.  

Humans were no exception.  

The northern lands had long been overtaken by them.  

If this continued, the world would meet its end.  

— From the records of Observer Olga —

***

A year had passed since the invader Iskis appeared. 

Due to the relentless appetite of the beasts, the land had long been reduced to desolation.  

The Kingdom of Lagos, ruler of the central continent, formed the “Iskis Subjugation Force” to prevent the impending apocalypse.  

The king prioritized those with “exceptional” magical power—individuals with immense mana far beyond human limits.  

Surely, they could end this nightmare.  

Desperately clinging to that belief, the king gathered every exceptional magic wielder he could find. 

Thus, the chosen heroes marched north.  

A long war ensued, and, as the king had hoped, the subjugation force managed to defeat the seven fragments.  

Finally, they stood before Iskis itself—the parent of the seven fragments, the king of all beasts.  

The dreadful source of this chaos was at last cornered by the heroes’ efforts.  

Peace was within reach.  

All that remained was to sever Iskis’s lifeline.  

***

“Sigh of Flames.”

A beautiful woman with black hair lightly waved her arm.  

A crow wreathed in crimson flames emerged from the tip of her staff, soaring with a gust of heat.  

The crow halted in midair, spewing flames in all directions, incinerating the pulsating eggs.  

The majestic sight left nearby mages in awe, stealing glances.  

Rita, a first-class mage affiliated with the Mage Tower.  

She was a celebrity even among freelance mages.  

“That’s her, right? Talos’s disciple, the prodigy of the Mage Tower.”  

“Her personality’s a bit rough, but they say she’s the most outstanding first-class mage alive. Rumor has it she can wield four elements simultaneously…”  

“But why’s she out here in the outskirts?”  

“Word is, Talos’s new disciple is some high-ranking noble, so she’s been sidelined lately.”  

“Well, from the Tower Master’s perspective, a noble disciple is better than a commoner one. Even a Tower Master has to mind the nobles’ influence.”  

“Poor thing.”  

“Poor? You wouldn’t say that if you saw how she treats people.”  

Despite the surrounding gossip, Rita maintained a calm expression and voice as she methodically exterminated the beasts in the hatchery.  

She didn’t care what others thought of her. 

They were just the laments of losers consumed by inferiority, after all. 

That’s how she saw it.  

As she muttered to herself and pressed forward, something blunt caught under her foot.  

It was a newly hatched spawn from the egg of Leviathan, the final fragment. 

With an indifferent glance, Rita crushed the wriggling creature’s head underfoot.  

Its black hide, glowing with red eyes, thrashed briefly before fading into stillness.  

With a sigh, her weary gray eyes scanned the surroundings. 

The area was littered with the foul-smelling corpses of beasts.  

Among the scattered remains of the creatures lay the broken bodies of her comrades.  

The long war had left countless scars and robbed people of their emotions.  

Even amidst the mountain of her comrades’ corpses, Rita’s face showed no emotion—just a brief sigh.  

Her gaze shifted to where the heroes and the saint stood. 

On the blackened earth, marked by the kingdom’s flag, Iskis, the king of beasts, lay gasping its final breaths.  

Its grotesque, withered, tree-like black body. 

A round head with no facial features, only sprouting branches. 

Red veins exposed atop it, seven limp black tails, and a pair of torn wings.  

Though it resembled a human, it was a hideous monster, utterly alien to this world.  

Iskis, who had once slaughtered humans with overwhelming power and terror, had finally fallen to its knees before the exceptional magic wielders.  

Countless soldiers rejoiced at the sight of the blood-soaked, weakened Iskis.  

The war would soon end. 

Everyone believed it without a doubt.  

“Stop! Everyone… please stop!”  

Just as Iskis’s annihilation was imminent, the saint’s gentle voice pierced the battlefield.  

An uneasy silence fell over the war-torn field, where only the instinct for slaughter had reigned.  

“Please, stop!”  

The saint continued to cry out, his voice filled with grief. 

The people paused their slaughter and turned to look at him.  

A beautiful young man with golden eyes—the hallmark of exceptional magic—sobbed pitifully.  

“What’s that idiot blabbering about?”  

A mage burning the hatchery muttered in disbelief.  

“Saint, saint. He’s been so pampered he’s lost his mind. Now he’s going to embrace even the beasts?”  

Mikael, the saint affiliated with the Rihanes Temple.  

People said he was so compassionate he bordered on foolish. 

Those who knew his nature voiced their dissatisfaction.  

The air grew heavy.  

Disapproving glares and complaints stabbed at the saint.  

When no one responded to his pleas, the beautiful saint trembled in panic.  

Then, a water-blue hero stepped forward.  

“I, the princess of the kingdom, guarantee it. Everyone, follow the saint’s words!”  

The hero shouted authoritatively, her golden eyes gleaming.  

The people were bewildered but dared not oppose her.  

She was a hero with exceptional magic, the sole princess of the Lagos Kingdom, and the commander of this subjugation force.  

“As of this moment, the Lagos Subjugation Force will enter a truce with Iskis!”  

The hero’s abrupt declaration silenced the murmurs of discontent.  

It was a unilateral, absurd decision.  

But no one could object.  

They only whispered their frustrations quietly, their faces filled with dissatisfaction.  

***

Meanwhile, the saint, moved by her support, tearfully grasped the hero’s hand.  

Their eyes met, and they moved to kneel before the dying Iskis.  

Then, the red eyes beneath Iskis’s black hide began to shift.  

Iskis’s gaze lingered on the saint, Mikael, then moved to the princess beside him before returning to Mikael.  

Astonishingly, the saint offered a gentle, affectionate smile to the greatest invader in history.  

The moment Mikael smiled, Iskis let out a horrific scream and lashed out with its tails in all directions.  

There was no time to dodge.  

Blood rained down as its frenzied attack tore through everything.  

In the chaos, the saint clutched the bisected body of the hero and wailed.  

“What… what’s happening?”  

Soldiers watching from the hatchery froze in shock. 

Rita, sensing the anomaly, rushed forward.  

“Master!”  

A sickening tearing sound rang out beside her.  

Turning, Rita saw an egg thrashing violently.  

Perhaps triggered by Iskis’s rampage, the eggs, far from hatching, began to react.  

Rita froze.  

One by one, the eggs split open, spilling transparent amniotic fluid. 

Red eyes emerged, scanning for prey.  

“Run! If this keeps up, the hatchlings will emerge all at once!”  

At someone’s warning, people screamed and fled the hatchery.  

Amid the chaos, Rita looked toward her master, Talos.  

Talos, an exceptional magic wielder and grand mage, led the magical division of this subjugation force.  

He was currently by the saint’s side.  

While everyone fled the battlefield, Rita ran toward the center, where Iskis stood.  

“I have to save Master…!”  

Talos was Rita’s benefactor.  

He had taken in the orphaned Rita, who had wandered the streets, and cared for her. 

At nine, he gave her the chance to learn, later declaring her his direct disciple.  

Thanks to him, Rita’s life had changed miraculously.  

To her, Talos was both master and parent.  

Saving him was her duty.  

Fortunately, Talos was unharmed.  

Relieved, Rita glanced at Iskis.  

After its rampage, Iskis had wrapped itself in its black wings, now silent.  

“The hatchlings are coming this way! We need to escape the hatchery now!”  

A knight, coughing blood, shouted urgently.  

But for this large group to escape, Grand Mage Talos needed to cast a mass teleportation spell.  

Rita quickly assessed the situation.  

Most survivors were injured or nobles more concerned with self-preservation.  

The only ones who could help in combat were Seth, a fellow mage who had followed her, and Alois, Talos’s new disciple.  

“Only Master can perform a mass teleportation now. We disciples will hold them off, so please, Master, draw the teleportation circle.”  

“Alois! You assist me!”  

Rita couldn’t understand the decision.  

Alois wasn’t skilled enough to aid Talos’s magic.  

But she couldn’t question her revered master’s orders. 

Loyal to his every word, she followed willingly.  

***

The hatchlings were now closing in. 

Rita calmly aimed her staff at the charging beasts.  

“Enduring Flame.”

A red flame materialized in the air, gracefully arcing to protect the surroundings.  

The hatchlings, drooling with hunger, grew ferocious before the blazing fire.  

“Talos! Have you finished? Let’s get out of here!”  

Survivors pressed Talos urgently.  

Talos glanced at Rita. 

A little more time, and his two disciples could join them.  

But he didn’t call for them.  

“It’s done? We’ve secured the princess’s body, so let’s go!”  

“We have to escape like this?”  

“The other exceptional wielders are still alive, except the princess. It’s frustrating, but we retreat for now! We’ll all die otherwise!”  

Alois panicked at the nobles’ insistence.  

“Wait! Rita and Seth… they’re still…!”  

A knight’s gaze followed Alois’s gesture, his eyes narrowing.  

“Are you joking?! Iskis could move any second!”  

“But, Sir Stein! They’re our comrades! They’re holding them off so we can—”  

“It’s the duty of lesser folk to serve nobles! If they turn back now, the beasts will flood here!”  

“What does that mean…?”  

Meanwhile, the silent Iskis twitched.  

The ominous air turned the survivors’ faces pale.  

“Sir Talos! They’re acting as shields, so let’s leave! First-class mages are replaceable!”  

A noble-born knight, known for his lineage, raged. 

Yet Talos remained silent, placing his hand on the ground.  

Alois’s eyes widened at his cold demeanor.  

“Master? Shouldn’t we wait for them…?”  

“Alois. This is the end.”  

The golden eyes of the once-kind master were chillingly cold, as if his wise persona had been a lie.  

Alois stammered in confusion.  

But the response was icy.  

“How long will you let yourself be treated as a noble stealing Rita’s place? Do you really want her to survive?”  

The small rebuke shook Alois’s pride and stoked his darker desires.  

Rita of the Mage Tower.  

Once, Alois had admired and envied her.  

Now, she was a source of fear, resentment, and unease.  

Talos gripped Alois’s trembling shoulders and whispered sweetly.  

“Your future is my future. Think only of yourself, Alois. From now on, you’ll be my only disciple.”

Alois bowed his head.

He was a coward after all.

***

Exhausted from repeated mana consumption, Rita and Seth froze as they witnessed a golden light.

“What’s that? They’re escaping like this? Leaving us behind? Hey, Rita! What the hell is going on?!”

“Master! Master—!”

Their panicked voices carried swiftly on the wind. But Talos coldly ignored his once-favored disciple.

Rita stared blankly at the fading golden mana, lost in thought for a long time. Only after several minutes did she finally grasp the reality.

She had been abandoned by her master.