The secret left in the Lord of the Magic Tower’s room and the true identity of the previous Tower Lord.
Even after quite some time had passed since hearing about the Abyss, the war it caused, and more from Kreutzvalt, there was no major change in Abelard’s behavior.
He steadily followed the procedures to ascend to the position of Tower Lord, and while doing so, he never neglected his magical research.
He attended all public events without fail, so no one would have sensed anything strange.
That Abelard Pavlenko was moving together with the specter of a bygone era, Kreutzvalt.
That Abelard, who everyone thought was still filling his 7th Circle, had succeeded in forming the eighth ring with Kreutzvalt’s advice.
They couldn’t have known.
‘……The 8th Circle.’
Of course, Hio experienced that process as a memory.
It was an indirect experience, but it was a rare opportunity.
‘How many people have ever experienced, even indirectly, the process of ascending to the 8th Circle?’
Part of him wanted to run to the Tower right now and experiment with the sensations he just felt, but that was overreaching.
‘He hadn’t even fully filled the seventh ring with inscriptions yet, nor had he perfectly mastered all the 6th Circle magic, had he?’
Unintentionally, he had only enlarged his vessel a great deal.
It wasn’t a bad thing, but there was no need to rush either.
He could just take it step by step.
‘So, you use Ideation to form the eighth ring.’
Anyway, it was undoubtedly a rare opportunity.
The realm of the 8th Circle wasn’t something anyone could teach you, nor could you learn it just from books.
The war broke out around that time.
The Abyss, recorded as Strange Entities, swept over the continent, and the completely unprepared continent was overwhelmed unilaterally.
If the Lord of the Magic Tower, the pinnacle of magical authority, and Kreutzvalt, who had known in advance about the Abyss’s invasion, hadn’t moved together, the damage would have been even more catastrophic.
No matter what anyone said, that much was certain.
“Prepare to go to Arilleia next.”
At Kreutzvalt’s words, Abelard’s indifferent eyes turned toward him.
“Arilleia? Why are you telling me to go to that insignificant island nation in the southern region?”
“It’s not insignificant. They’re just pretending to be.”
“Pretending?”
“A Sacred Beast grows there. I plan to keep the last remaining dragon there.”
“Didn’t we conclude that the dragons are already beyond recovery?”
“We did. But strangely, the last dragon has a future. And the truly useful thing isn’t the dragon, but the Dragon Knight. I’ll save that fellow and send him to Arilleia.”
‘……So you’re saying to use him to create a foundation to protect Arilleia. One so solid it won’t waver even after hundreds of years.’
Kreutzvalt nodded with satisfaction.
“That’s right.”
Right away, Abelard departed for Arilleia.
Since the Magician’s House was spread all over the world and the Wizard’s Tower oversaw it all, no special preparations were needed.
This period’s memories passed by quickly, as if they weren’t very important, so he couldn’t examine them in detail, but Abelard personally laid the groundwork for the mysterious island to remain veiled for a thousand years, meeting Regarda and installing permanent magic circles in Arilleia.
By that time, besides the two of them, there were also numerous mages who followed their will.
Each one a powerhouse of at least the 6th Circle or above.
Individuals with the skill and experience to lead a school of magic.
They began to acknowledge and follow Abelard.
Because Abelard’s achievements were extraordinary.
As if he had known this would happen, he knew how to deal with the Strange Entities, what their weaknesses were, how mages should fight and act, and so on.
He moved the fastest and completely captivated even those who had doubted his capabilities as Tower Lord.
Thus, those great mages gathered under Abelard one by one.
Of course, they still didn’t know about Kreutzvalt’s existence.
That the one planning all this, the one behind Abelard.
No one knew it was the master of black magic who was said to have died hundreds of years ago.
“Next is Achaia. They say it’s on the brink of annihilation, so you going there will be a great help, Pavlenko.”
Kreutzvalt’s information network was uncanny, accurately pinpointing which city in which nation was in the most critical danger.
And following his words, Abelard immediately moved, and it was only natural that he became the continent’s hero.
‘Didn’t he always appear like a hero in the most dangerous areas, saving countless people?’
He not only solidified his position as Tower Lord, but his fame spread so widely that there was no one on the continent who didn’t know of him.
However, the continent was vast, and the Abyss was more vicious and tenacious than imagined.
Despite Abelard’s efforts, numerous villages and cities were being tainted by the Abyss, several each day.
It was around then that Abelard’s serious suspicions seemed to begin.
“Next, head to the Verden Empire’s city of Lukaidan. It’s predicted to be the next target of the Strange Entities.”
‘……Lukaidan in Verden, is it.’
“That’s right. I think it’s the most dangerous place.”
“Then this time too, I’ll be able to save many people.”
“Indeed.”
‘A dramatic crisis where I can barely manage to save them by exerting my full power, teetering on the edge.’
This was the basis.
The places Kreutzvalt pointed out were always like that.
A crisis that Abelard could barely manage to stop if he exerted his full power.
An environment where Abelard’s abilities, his power, his magic, would inevitably shine.
The most perfect conditions for becoming a hero.
The places Kreutzvalt told him to go were always like that.
“Don’t think too deeply about it. It’s just the result of excluding places that seemed hopeless.”
That’s why he headed to Basterion.
Instead of heading for the Verden Empire’s city of Lukaidan as Kreutzvalt said, he judged for himself and headed for the Kingdom of Knights, Basterion.
He heeded the earnest plea of the incompetent king and went to Basterion.
And the result was something Hio had also seen once before.
The fall of Basterion.
Seeing it again, the military force was truly absurd.
The Abyssal forces, the legion of Strange Entities that appeared in Basterion’s final battle.
The Abyss, led by four tainted dragons, tightening its grip from all sides.
It was a scale never seen on any other battlefield.
As if it was deliberate.
As if they wanted to make an example.
……As if saying, your choice led to this result.
“You went to Basterion instead of Lukaidan.”
“That’s why they all died. Both Basterion and Lukaidan.”
If he had gone to Lukaidan as Kreutzvalt said, he could have saved hundreds of thousands again.
Because of one uncertain doubt, everyone died.
The residents of Lukaidan too.
And perhaps the Kingdom of Basterion as well……
“From now on, don’t doubt. Isn’t this a crisis for the continent?”
Thus, there was nothing more he could do.
The continent was in an unprecedented crisis, and moving according to Kreutzvalt’s words was the best course.
Now, wasn’t it just the mages of Tetradia, but every human on the entire continent watching Abelard himself?
He couldn’t back out based on a mere suspicion, a feeling that something was wrong.
The stakes of the gamble were the survival of the continent or the fall of nations.
“This is where you must go next.”
And so he kept moving.
Without resting for a moment, he traversed the entire continent, fighting against the Strange Entities and the Abyss.
His fame rose to a point where it couldn’t rise any higher, and every nation and city begged for Abelard to stay, even briefly.
But he couldn’t.
He had to go only to the places Kreutzvalt designated.
Because if he didn’t, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands would die without fail, and the worst outcome would unfold.
That day too, after saving one city, he was on his way back to the Tower.
Kreutzvalt began muttering to himself in front of Abelard.
“Strange. His fame is as high as it can get, so why is there no change?”
Abelard couldn’t understand what he was talking about.
“The core should be fame…… As for the other Pavlenkos, they’re all empty shells.”
As he said that, looking into Kreutzvalt’s eyes, Abelard had an intuition.
“Is the time still not right?”
That a change was about to happen.
That Kreutzvalt had decided something.
And his prediction was correct.
“Pavlenko. It seems the time has come to execute that plan.”
According to Kreutzvalt, the only way to save the continent from crisis.
The method where they themselves become a suicide squad and cross directly into the Abyss.
Tetradia, the core of magical strategy and power.
The plan to teleport the entire city to the heart of the Abyss and destroy the source itself.
It was the method the dragons had initially chosen, and a plan that could be established because Kreutzvalt knew both the plan and the passageway for it.
But why now, of all times?
“Now is the perfect opportunity. All the dragons have perished. Knowing this, the Abyss is pouring all its strength into ruthlessly invading and ravaging the light, so we will strike its weak point.”
On the surface, it sounded plausible.
Of course, even if it didn’t, there was nothing Abelard could do.
Even though he was a Master Magician who had reached the 8th Circle.
Even though he was evaluated as the youngest Tower Lord, a person born for magic.
‘What meaning would it have if there was no world to acknowledge it?’
When he came to his senses, the continent was in danger of destruction.
The hostage Abelard was held with was the continent itself.
“Now, bring all the suicide squad members. Let’s execute the plan.”
Even in that situation, Kreutzvalt’s expression, actions, tone, and emotions were no different from their first meeting.
“Wait a moment…… just wait a moment.”
That’s why, right before executing the plan, the person he sought out was Len Hank.
The one who had saved Abelard, his true teacher who taught him about magic and the world.
Of course, from Len Hank’s perspective, he was no longer a disciple.
He was a selfish human who had turned his back on millions he could have saved under the pretext of saving the continent.
But still, he was Abelard’s only teacher.
The one who always taught that people came first.
Because now, he felt he understood that meaning, even a little.
In the end, Abelard left behind the stubborn Len Hank and stopped by the Tower Lord’s room one last time.
Only after sitting at that desk and scribbling something down did he go to find Kreutzvalt.
“Are all the preparations complete?”
“…Yes.”
“Your teacher ultimately made a meaningless choice, it seems.”
“Perhaps.”
“Wipe that look off your face. We are a suicide squad. In the future, everyone will praise and extol this glorious expedition.”
“Yes.”
In the midst of the meaningless conversation, Kreutzvalt and Abelard’s eyes met.
“Heh heh…… Good, let’s go then.”
We cannot know exactly what Abelard was thinking at that time.
But it’s certain that Abelard had some degree of foresight about his own future.
That he alone was the only one who had guessed Kreutzvalt’s true identity and plan.
Then, what was the reason he followed Kreutzvalt without a word toward the End of the World?
‘Was it because the continent was held hostage?’
‘Or was it because he had some other plan of his own?’
“To the true Abyss.”
To find that out, he would have to go into the Abyss once more.
He would have to search for the suicide squad at the World’s End.
[Belthesia’s Gate of Memories has ended.]
[Returning to the Abyss – ’71st Floor’.]
With that memory, Hio’s eyes snapped open.