Chapter 111: The Tower of Fire’s Dilemma

“Yes, I’m talking about that Gaon.”

“And you said there’s a high chance he was also responsible for Coexistence Zone 15 and the northern regions.”

“It seems the one who killed Vice Tower Master Max was…”

Ashilan trailed off.

There was no need to hear the rest to know what he meant.

It was clear he was saying Gaon killed Max.

Sinabro was speechless.

Gaon, who had vanished decades ago and was presumed dead, had returned?

The situation was so absurd that his mind went blank.

‘Wait a second!’

A sudden thought made Sinabro’s eyes flash.

Not long ago, a letter had arrived from Gardion Tower.

It was filled with utter nonsense.

He couldn’t understand why they’d sent such a letter.

But if Gaon’s return was true?

Then the reason Gardion sent it made sense.

And the nonsense in the letter was no longer nonsense.

If it was Gaon, the contents couldn’t be dismissed as rubbish.

They had to be taken seriously.

“Understood. But what does the Holy Empire think?”

“What do you mean?”

“Gaon is a blasphemer against the divine, isn’t he? From the looks of it, he’ll keep clashing with them…”

Gaon was infamous as a blasphemer.

Judging from his past actions and what he was showing now, it was obvious he’d frequently conflict with Seionia.

Would Seionia be unaware of that?

Of course they knew.

That’s why he was curious.

What Seionia thought of Gaon.

If they took the stance of trying to ‘reform’ the blasphemer Gaon?

He was willing to join them.

“Ahem.”

Ashilan cleared his throat.

“For now, the priority is driving out the demon world, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

Sinabro paused at Seionia’s response before replying, thinking to himself.

‘It seems they’re planning to leave him alone.’

If they intended to reform Gaon, they wouldn’t have reacted like this.

“I’ll contact you later when things calm down.”

“Understood. Then.”

Sinabro ended the communication with Ashilan.

And sank into thought.

‘…He’s probably still at the 8th Circle.’

Decades ago, Gaon was already an 8th-Circle mage.

‘If his power remains the same, his stamina must be weak.’

Of course, with the passage of time and aging, he wouldn’t be as strong as before.

There had to be some weakness, whether in power or physical condition.

‘Even so, it won’t be easy…’

He couldn’t be underestimated.

Considering Coexistence Zone 15 and Max’s death, Gaon was immensely threatening.

‘For now, it’s best to pressure him through public opinion.’

No matter how he looked at it, a direct confrontation of strength didn’t seem wise.

The losses would be too great.

First, forming public opinion to restrict Gaon’s movements seemed better.

Having made his decision, Sinabro reconnected the communication with Calvin.

“I’ve found the culprit.”

“Who is it!”

“The first Tower Master of Gardion Tower, Gaon.”

“Yes?”

“Wasn’t he dead decades ago?”

“I thought so too, but apparently not.”

“Huh…”

***

Aletars Swamp.

The central tent of the temporary base shared by the Tower of Fire and the Reito Count Family.

Inside the central tent, Hedow and Rian—the ones now in charge of the site for the Tower of Fire—were discussing with grave expressions.

The topic was Gaon, who had finished his conversation and left an hour ago.

“Is it really him?”

Rian asked, his face full of disbelief.

In contrast, Hedow answered with remarkable calm.

“It must be. Considering that power…”

Max, a 7th-Circle mage, had died without being able to do anything.

Tower Master Sinabro was stronger than Max.

But could even Sinabro kill Max in an instant?

No, it was impossible.

And it wasn’t just Sinabro.

No 7th-Circle mage could do it.

“Then is that story true as well?”

“Probably. He wouldn’t lie with power like that.”

Hedow shuddered.

Even thinking back on it, the strength was overwhelming.

Just then.

Whoosh!

The communication crystal between them glowed brightly.

Hedow immediately infused it with mana.

“I greet Vice Tower Master Sillin.”

“What happened?”

“I heard Vice Tower Master Max is dead—how are you two?”

“Surely Max didn’t sacrifice himself?”

Sillin skipped the greeting.

Instead, she dove straight into the point, firing questions in rapid succession.

And finally ended with a voice full of disbelief.

“There’s no way that could…”

Hedow opened his mouth and began explaining.

“The one who killed Vice Tower Master Max is the first Tower Master of Gardion Tower, Gaon.”

“…Gaon?”

“What do you mean—”

Naturally, Sillin reacted with disbelief.

But Hedow paid it no mind.

Even Rian, who had seen and spoken to him directly, was struggling to believe it.

It was only natural for Sillin not to accept it, so Hedow continued his explanation.

Everything up to the recent events, and every word Gaon had asked them to relay—without omitting a single detail.

After hearing it all, Sillin said nothing.

Hedow and Rian waited in silence.

Soon, Sillin collected herself and spoke.

“Max died from a single attack?”

That was the first thing out of her mouth regarding Max’s death.

“Yes, though it might have been multiple attacks overlapping, to my eyes it looked like one.”

Hedow recalled the moment Max died.

It was shocking every time he thought about it.

A 7th-Circle Archmage dying from a single strike.

“It wasn’t magic, but a sword?”

“Yes, from what I saw, it was a sword.”

He still couldn’t fully comprehend it, but what Gaon had used to kill Max was a ‘sword.’

“Of course, it was likely just a medium.”

He probably hadn’t killed him with a real sword.

It was presumed he’d used the sword as a casting tool instead of a staff.

“…”

Sillin let out a low groan.

Then asked again.

“Gaon is coming to the Tower of Fire?”

“Yes, he said he would speak with you, Vice Tower Master. He left right after our talk, so he should arrive in a few days.”

“What if I refuse the conversation?”

It wasn’t a promised meeting.

It was Gaon’s unilateral decision.

What would he do if she refused?

Sillin was extremely curious.

“Well…”

Hedow trailed off.

His face showed discomfort.

Naturally, Hedow had asked Gaon the same question as Sillin.

What he would do if she refused to talk.

“He said it doesn’t matter. If you won’t talk, there’s nothing he can do.”

“…That’s it?”

“Yes, that was all. However…”

Hedow, trailing off again, recalled the aura Gaon had exuded at the time and continued.

“There’s a high chance you’ll die.”

“What?”

Sillin retorted in an incredulous voice.

But that was all.

He was the one who had instantly killed even Max.

She couldn’t say something like, How dare he threaten me?

“He didn’t say it directly—it’s just the feeling I got at the time.”

“…”

“But surely you’re not thinking of refusing the talk?”

“I feel like I should have the conversation…”

“Do you two think he could single-handedly subdue our entire tower?”

At Sillin’s question, Hedow looked at Rian.

Rian happened to look at Hedow at the same moment.

Their eyes met, confirming they shared the same thought, and Hedow answered.

“Yes. Vice Tower Master Max couldn’t do anything before dying. I’m certain that even if every member of the tower combined their strength, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“What if Vice Tower Master Hailey from the Tower of Wind and Vice Tower Master Pianus from the Alter Tower were here too?”

Hedow and Rian couldn’t help but be shocked at Sillin’s words.

The Tower of Wind and Alter Tower were among the Ten Great Towers.

And both vice tower masters were 7th-Circle Archmages.

Why would those two be at the Tower of Fire?

***

Having left the coexistence zone and repeatedly casting Teleport, Gaon arrived near the Tower of Fire and began flying.

One more Teleport would get him there instantly.

Yet the reason he flew instead was the spatial coordinate disruption array the Tower of Fire had set up.

Of course, it wasn’t high-level, so he could Teleport safely, but it would take time.

And above all, the moment he Teleported, the Tower of Fire would detect it.

He hadn’t yet spoken with Vice Tower Master Sillin.

He intended to cause trouble only after the conversation, if it came to that.

He had no intention of drawing attention beforehand.

Soon, the Tower of Fire came into view.

‘It’s developed a lot, as expected.’

This wasn’t Gaon’s first visit to the Tower of Fire.

He had been there several times in the past.

Compared to then, it had grown incomparably.

Though not quite on Gardion’s level, it was large enough to rival any major city.

‘At this size, Abyss must be here too.’

Abyss suddenly came to mind.

Even Gardion had harbored numerous traitors.

The Tower of Fire would have them as well.

‘But if Sillin is a traitor…’

The sudden thought made Gaon faintly frown.

He hadn’t spoken to her yet, but Gaon planned to entrust the Tower of Fire to Sillin.

But what if Sillin was a traitor?

Even if not her, what if a significant number of those who followed her belonged to Abyss?

Gaon had no intention of letting Abyss affiliates live.

Would Sillin abandon those who followed her?

‘I’ll know once I meet her.’

His current worries might be needless.

No point in fretting ahead of time.

Gaon shook off the concern and headed toward the entrance.

He took out the identification plaque Hedow had given him and showed it to the soldiers guarding the gate.

“…!”

The soldiers blocking his path stepped aside with shocked expressions the moment they saw it, and Gaon passed through unchallenged.

Extending his senses to the maximum as he walked toward Sillin’s residence—as described by Hedow—to assess the Tower of Fire’s level.

‘Hmm?’

Soon, Gaon tilted his head.

‘Why are there so many?’

The reason was that he detected no fewer than five beings who had crossed the wall.

Originally, the Tower of Fire had only four 7th-Circle Archmages: Tower Master Sinabro and three vice tower masters.

And Gaon had killed Vice Tower Master Max.

That meant only three 7th-Circle Archmages should remain.

Yet he now sensed five.

Who were the extra two?

Hidden trump cards the Tower of Fire hadn’t publicized?

Or perhaps external guests?

‘Well, I’ll find out soon.’

He was almost at Sillin’s residence.

Talking to her would reveal it.

And honestly, he didn’t strictly need to know.

Three or five—it made no difference to Gaon.

He was confident even if all five attacked together.

Confident he could thoroughly crush them.

Even if they cooperated perfectly and struck simultaneously, not one by one.

Step.

Arriving at his destination, Gaon paused briefly.

He triggered the alarm array at the entrance.

Soon after, a middle-aged man in his early fifties emerged from the mansion.

It wasn’t Sillin.

He appeared to be the butler managing the place.

“I’ve come to see Sillin.”

Gaon spoke before the man could ask anything.

Perhaps because he mentioned ‘Sillin’ so naturally?

The man flinched and asked.

“…May I ask who you are?”

“Tell her it’s Gaon.”

“One moment…”

The man excused himself and went inside, and soon Gaon sensed it.

Sillin approaching hurriedly.

‘She’s already heard.’

From her reaction, she had clearly spoken with Hedow and Rian.

There was no other reason for her to rush like this.

Creak!

The door opened again, and Gaon saw it.

Sillin’s bewildered face.

And with a voice thick with confusion, she asked.

“H-How are you already…?”

Sillin was utterly flustered.

According to Hedow and Rian, he had only just left Aletars Swamp.

It should have taken days.

How had he arrived so soon?

Of course, Gaon didn’t resolve her curiosity.

“You seem to have heard everything.”

He cut straight to the point instead.

“What are you going to do?”