Chapter 55: A rematch?

Thanks to Alois’s ability, Rita and her group returned with ease.  

“The south feels like summer’s coming, but it’s really cold here,” Blena shivered.  

“You’ll get used to it quick. Hey, young master, you okay?” Seth asked.  

Alois, having used long-distance teleportation magic twice in one day, slumped to the ground, catching his breath.  

Rita, watching his labored breathing, spoke awkwardly.  

“You did well. Thanks to you, we made the trip easily.”  

Alois’s pale face lit up with renewed energy.  

“Seth!”  

From beyond a large bonfire, a man with an eyepatch over his right eye waved cheerfully.  

It was Eugène, the one-eyed mercenary leader.  

Treating Seth like a younger brother, he casually joined the group.  

“Greetings to the great mage, the lovely mage lady, and the handsome young master.”  

Eugène’s playful grin and greeting made Blena blush like a beet, giggling shyly.  

Rita, amused by her unexpectedly innocent reaction, let out a hollow laugh.  

“You’ve been gone since this morning. Where’d you four go?” Eugène asked.  

“Anything happen while we were away?” Seth replied, brushing off Eugène’s clinginess to inquire about the situation.  

“It’s been quiet so far. The scouting team said there’s not even an ant near the camp. Maybe because the lizard territory is a bit far? But the scholars think if these things are really like lizards, they might be weak to the cold.”  

“Oh! Now that you mention it, that makes sense, given Satan’s attributes…” Alois said, smiling brightly.  

Eugène ruffled Alois’s pink hair freely.  

“They’re testing that theory with a few they caught, young master. But while I was left out, where’d you all go? The Mage Tower’s been in an uproar.”  

Eugène, aware of the rift between Rita and Talos, smirked slyly.  

It was common knowledge by now, so Rita showed no discomfort, instead showing her curiosity.  

“It’s nothing major. Just about that so-called master of yours—that annoying old man who sits in headquarters all day, never moving,” Eugène continued, unfazed by Blena, Seth, and Alois’s embarrassed reactions.  

“But today, for some reason, he was out wandering around, looking pale as a ghost. All jittery like a dog needing to pee. Seemed like he was looking for you, great mage.”  

Rita chuckled, understanding immediately.  

Things will probably get even more interesting starting tomorrow.  

***

The next afternoon, with the main camp still recovering, a teleportation circle activated.  

Emerging in the north were Karina, the Sea Mercenary Guild, and a few Free Mages.  

Their unexpected arrival shocked those who recognized them.  

“Free Mages? The ones who refused to come even for a fortune—what brought them here?”  

“Must mean things are that bad.”  

While mercenaries exchanged grim remarks, mages who’d been notified an hour earlier focused on Karina.  

“She really came.”  

“Never thought I’d see the day. I figured those two reuniting would only happen when the world was ending—and it really is.”  

Two hours ago, the Mage Tower had been thrown into chaos by Karina’s request to prepare a teleportation circle.  

Raine, who’d returned to the Tower for administrative duties due to her unsuitability for combat, received the call.  

Stunned by the familiar yet uneasy voice, she was dazed for a while before relaying the message to the northern expedition, where Rita confirmed it.  

Despite the Mage Tower’s uproar, Karina visited the Tower for the first time in nearly twenty years, confidently using its teleportation circle to reach the north.  

“Thank you for coming so quickly, Karina,” Rita said, greeting her respectfully at the teleportation circle area.  

Her actions, with Talos and the elders behind her, shocked the mages.  

“Has Rita lost it? Even with the history between her master and Karina, for a former direct disciple to show such courtesy… what does that do to her master’s position?”  

“Who cares? Their split is obvious now. This is the start of a real power struggle.”  

“Then we’ll have to choose sides, won’t we? The seniors already seem to have made up their minds…”  

As young mages, deployed as reserves for the expedition, anxiously debated, older mages in their thirties and beyond watched with amused expressions.  

Those in their thirties, too upright to flatter Talos and the elders, remained students.  

Those in their forties and fifties, dissatisfied with the Mage Tower’s structure, saw Rita as someone who could change its future—or their own lives.  

“Rita’s a great mage, after all. And the oracle’s subject. Once the expedition’s over, whose hands will the Mage Tower fall into?”  

“No more groveling to anyone.”  

“The Mage Tower needs to be more transparent.”  

As the mages rejoiced at the coming changes, other supreme-rank mages came to greet the new arrivals.  

Karina, a well-known figure to the Rihanes Temple and Lagos Palace, was once hailed as a hero alongside Talos.  

Valery Gainer, an old acquaintance, greeted her warmly.  

Though it was just a reunion, it stung someone’s pride.  

Talos, watching Karina receive more respect than him, smiled while seething inside.  

“We’ve prepared a place for you to stay. I’ll come escort you tonight, so rest until then,” 

Rita said, implying they’d discuss details later.  

But Karina, scanning the crowd, gave a cold smile.  

“I have one request.”  

“Speak.”  

Rita noticed Karina’s gaze on Talos and his group.  

Then, Karina whispered, 

“I want to settle a twenty-year-old humiliation. Can you help?”  

‘A rematch?’ 

Caught off guard, Rita was startled, but Karina clarified.  

“Station my unit and Talos’s close together. I’m curious about my old rival’s skills after so long. I can’t forget the sharpness of that blue spear from twenty years ago. I want to see if it was really Talos’s.”  

Her calm voice belied her intent: to face Talos as an equal and verify the suspicions of foul play from their past duel.  

Rita nodded slowly.  

‘My target was Talos anyway.’ 

Though her meeting with Karina was spurred by anger over Seth’s insult, Talos needed to be on the front lines regardless.  

‘And I don’t need to drag him around myself.’  

If Talos were with her, he’d feel constant danger and be on edge.  

Watching him squirm would be fun, but being together might reveal things I’d rather avoid.  

Only the tracking unit knew that mana stones appeared after Fragments died.  

In her past life, Talos had hoarded them, and there was no guarantee he wouldn’t again.  

‘I need to keep Talos away from mana stones as much as possible.’

So, Rita readily agreed.  

“That’s fine. The battlefield is divided into many zones based on the beasts’ types and growth, so we need commanders for multiple camps. If it’s two nearby locations…”  

Not knowing the exact troop situation, Rita glanced at Sercia and Valery.  

Sercia, who’d been listening with interest, smiled brightly.  

“Don’t worry. Above the northeastern camp, there’s Allen and Bamil points, separated by a small river in a forest. We’ve been struggling to find capable leaders for those spots. Capturing them would be a huge help.”  

In essence, whoever secured their camp first would win.  

Interpreting Sercia’s proposal, Rita and Karina’s reactions diverged.  

Rita approved of the contest, seeing it as efficient for the expedition.  

“Perfect. Then Karina can take Allen, and Talos can take Bamil.”  

All that remained was Talos’s consent.  

As all eyes turned to him, his lips twitched briefly.  

But as if nothing happened, he smiled warmly and agreed.  

***

After Karina’s arrival, the Mage Tower’s reactions varied.  

Thanks to Talos and the elders’ thorough brainwashing, many viewed Karina negatively, but expectations for Talos also rose.  

He hadn’t become Mage Tower Master through luck and politics alone.  

Once hailed as a hero alongside Karina, his skills matched his title.  

But now, with much to lose, he was cautious.  

Since Satan’s attack, Talos had been even more passive in battle, unwilling to die miserably as beast fodder when he had so much left to enjoy.  

But Rita had disrupted that wish.  

“Damn it…!”  

Back in his tent, Talos finally dropped his mask.  

Starting tomorrow, he’d have to join the grueling beast hunt in earnest.  

Worse, Karina, whom he’d barely driven out of the Mage Tower, was now in the north, and he was forced into a ridiculous contest with her.  

“Face masked?”  

Honestly, Talos wasn’t confident.  

Karina had always been unfazed by grotesque things like chimeras and thrived in combat situations like sparring.  

She might change her tune facing Satan directly, but for now, she had the upper hand.  

Talos was deeply anxious.  

The expedition promoted Talos and Karina as old heroes fighting side by side to vanquish beasts, but everyone knew it was a “duel.”  

“Fine, Torgo! If it’s Torgo!”  

Talos rushed to his closest peer, Torgo, the most reliable ally he had.  

After a brief argument, Torgo fortunately agreed to help.  

Next, Talos secured a few loyal followers, totaling five.  

Though knights and priests would join, this was essentially a pride contest between Talos and Karina.  

Whoever captured their assigned point first was key, making allies’ skills crucial.  

So, Talos racked his brain for more trustworthy people.  

“Mona? No, too incompetent. Ganesha and Shariel are on Rita’s side, Raine’s unfit for combat, and Lenore’s a wreck since losing Kerman… If only Obern were here…”  

In his distress, Talos thought of Oderi, a skilled elder who also despised Karina.  

Her stubbornness was an issue, but desperate, he sought her out.  

Mindful of prying eyes, he took a back path through the forest used by scouts, knowing their patrol times.  

To avoid unnecessary attention, he even masked his presence, moving stealthily in the dark.  

He couldn’t afford rumors of scrambling for allies.  

‘Wait, what’s that sound?’  

As he crept like a mouse, a strange noise reached Talos’s ears—a greedy, smacking sound, like something being devoured.  

Fearing a beast had infiltrated the camp, he froze, pressing against a tree and peering around.  

Soon, he spotted movement under a tree ahead.  

‘What’s that…’  

As clouds parted, letting moonlight illuminate the area, he saw a young woman with long, light green hair.  

Talos held his breath.  

In the expedition, only Floria, the Child of the Forest, had such hair.