Chapter 110: Gaon Has Returned

Obis couldn’t say a word in response to the man’s question.

He had just witnessed what happened to Max after answering a question.

How could he possibly reply?

But staying completely silent was also a problem.

This was an existence that had killed a 7th-Circle Great Mage in an instant.

Ignoring a question from such a being felt extremely unsettling.

What should I do…?

Obis’s mind raced.

And right at that moment.

“Since you’re not answering, I guess that means yes.”

The man continued.

Obis instinctively opened his mouth.

“N-No, that’s not…”

Crack!

But before he could finish, a chill surged from beneath his feet, and Obis froze solid.

With Obis following Max in death, everyone held their breath.

Melvin, who had become the Reito Count Family’s representative after Obis’s death, grew even more tense.

At that moment, the man turned his head.

Melvin let out a sigh of relief and looked where the man’s gaze had shifted.

Hedow! Rian!

The man’s gaze was directed at Hedow and Rian—the 6th-Circle mages who had become the Tower of Fire’s representatives after Max’s death.

“What are your names?”

“…Hedow.”

Hedow answered, while Rian stayed silent.

“Oh, Hedow? The Mage of Gentle Flames?”

The man let out an exclamation and asked Hedow again.

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Hedow replied cautiously, watching the man’s reaction.

The man smiled lightly.

That was all.

Unlike the two who had died earlier, nothing happened to Hedow.

The man turned his head to look at Rian.

“And your name?”

“Rian…”

Seeing that Hedow hadn’t died, Rian answered carefully.

“Ah! Rian, right.”

The man exclaimed and nodded.

That was the end of it.

Just like Hedow, nothing happened to Rian.

Many people wore bewildered expressions at the different outcome compared to the two who had died.

Gaon turned his head and looked at Melvin.

“What’s your name?”

Melvin flinched at Gaon’s gaze.

He hesitated for a moment.

Should he answer or not?

How could he avoid dying?

The hesitation didn’t last long.

If I don’t answer, I’ll die.

If he answered, he might die—or he might not.

But if he didn’t answer, he would definitely die.

From the start, the choice was already made for him.

“M-Melvin.”

“I see.”

Gaon nodded as if he understood and cast a spell silently.

Crack!

At the same time, a magic circle appeared beneath Melvin’s feet, spewing extreme cold.

Melvin froze solid and met his death.

Having dealt with Melvin as well, Gaon looked back at Hedow and Rian.

How did these two end up being the exact ones sent?

The reason Gaon hadn’t killed Hedow and Rian was simple.

These two had opposed the war with Gardion Tower.

Out of the many 6th-Circle mages, only these two.

And they had suffered repercussions for their opposition.

Were they planning to use them as bait if something went wrong?

No matter how he looked at it, the reason these two had been sent here seemed to be as disposable bait for Max in case demons or demonic beasts appeared and things went south.

Then what about the rest…?

Gaon glanced at the remaining mages.

Could the others also be in the same situation as Hedow and Rian?

…Well, it worked out anyway.

He couldn’t know for sure.

And he didn’t need to.

What mattered now was that Hedow and Rian were here.

Among the three Vice Tower Masters of the Tower of Fire, only the 7th-Circle Great Mage “Sillin” had opposed the war—and Gaon planned to entrust the future of the Tower of Fire to her, Hedow, and Rian.

Yet these two had shown up perfectly?

This was the ideal opportunity to talk.

Whether the conversation went well or not, he would be able to clean up the Tower of Fire much faster than expected.

Having finished his thoughts, Gaon spoke to Hedow and Rian.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

The top floor of the Tower of Fire.

The room of Tower Master Sinabro.

“…”

Sinabro said nothing.

He simply stared blankly at the communication crystal.

The state of the communication crystal he was looking at was far from normal.

It was split clean in half.

…What happened?

Soon regaining his senses, Sinabro recalled the moment just before.

While they were talking, the communication crystal had suddenly split in half.

A crystal splitting in half meant the connected crystal had been destroyed.

That made it even harder to understand.

It was the communication crystal linked to Vice Tower Master Max, who had gone to occupy the northern region of Coexistence Zone 15.

What on earth could have happened there for the crystal to be destroyed?

Could the crystal have been defective?

The first thought was destruction due to a faulty crystal.

Of course, the likelihood was low.

But nothing else came to mind.

If demons or demonic beasts were present, that might explain it—but they weren’t, so why would it be destroyed?

Sinabro decided to wait for now.

If it was a defect, they would soon contact him via the spare communication crystal.

But as time passed, no contact came.

The chance of even the spare crystal having an issue?

It was low enough to call zero percent.

No way…

A sudden thought made Sinabro swallow hard.

Were there demons after all?

They had said there were no demons or demonic beasts.

But what if there were some that hadn’t been detected?

Sinabro left the room.

He headed to the chamber downstairs where the soul stones were kept.

The moment he entered, Sinabro checked Max’s soul stone.

Upon checking, Sinabro froze solid.

Max’s soul stone, just like the communication crystal, was split clean in half.

Sinabro couldn’t say a word.

He could only stare blankly.

He had considered the possibility but thought it impossible.

Who was Max?

A 7th-Circle Great Mage who had crossed the wall.

Yet Max was dead?

And so quickly?

This makes no sense.

Soon coming to his senses, Sinabro left the room and returned to his own.

Upon arriving, he pushed the broken communication crystal aside and brought out a new one.

Shaaa—!

As he injected mana, a blue light settled into the crystal.

Soon after, the blue light turned green, and a cheerful voice rang out.

—What brings the Tower Master of the Tower of Fire to contact me?

“Sir Ashilan.”

Sinabro quietly called the name of the voice’s owner, Ashilan.

“Yes, speak.”

Feeling something unusual in Sinabro’s voice, Ashilan lowered his tone and replied seriously.

Sinabro got to the point.

“Vice Tower Master Max is dead.”

—What? What do you mean by that all of a sudden…

“You told me, Sir Ashilan. That the demonic energy had thinned, and the demonic rift in Ruhen had closed.

That now was the perfect opportunity to secure the territory.”

After pouring out his words in rapid succession, Sinabro paused to catch his breath.

Then, with irritation and anger in his voice, he continued.

“Are you certain? That the demonic energy hasn’t thinned but is condensed somewhere instead?”

—…That can’t be.

—If that were the case, we wouldn’t be sending the Holy Order to Coexistence Zone 16.

“Is it still the same now?”

—Please wait a moment.

Ashilan left.

A brief silence fell.

Sinabro sank into thought.

If it’s still the same…

From Ashilan’s reaction, the chance of the demonic energy being condensed seemed low.

If it had been condensed, chaos would have erupted long ago, and Ashilan couldn’t possibly be unaware.

That was the problem.

Then what on earth had happened?

Soon, Ashilan returned.

—There are no condensed areas.

—In fact, it has thinned even more.

It was the worst-case scenario, just as he had feared.

—Are you certain the Vice Tower Master is dead?

“His soul stone is broken.”

—Ah…

Ashilan let out a quiet sigh.

Silence lingered for a moment.

Ashilan broke it.

—For now, if there are any changes in the demon side or additional information comes in, I’ll contact you.

“…Understood.”

Sinabro had no choice but to end the communication.

He knew how busy the Intelligence Agency was right now.

With no information at all, he couldn’t keep holding onto Ashilan.

Soon, the green light in the communication crystal turned red, and the call ended.

Sinabro stopped injecting mana and fell into thought.

Countless pieces of information floated through his mind and vanished.

It couldn’t be something the Reito Count Family did…

It wasn’t just personnel from the tower that had been dispatched.

They had gone with knights and soldiers from the Reito Count Family.

But none among them had crossed the wall.

Even if they all attacked together, they couldn’t kill Max.

Come to think of it, what about the Reito Count Family?

Max was dead.

But were the dispatched personnel from the Reito Count Family safe?

It was right then.

Wuuung!

A pattern of blue light appeared on one of the communication crystals on the shelf.

It was the crest of the Reito Count Family.

Sinabro immediately injected mana to connect the call.

A familiar voice came from the crystal.

—Sir Sinabro.

It was none other than Calvin Reito, the head of the Reito Count Family.

“Yes, Sir Calvin.”

Sinabro replied to Calvin and thought to himself.

As expected, something happened on the Reito side too.

Calvin’s voice didn’t sound good.

And contacting him in this situation meant something had definitely gone wrong for the Reito Count Family as well.

—Obis and Melvin are dead.

It was as expected.

A major problem had arisen for the Reito Count Family.

“As I thought…”

For now, to avoid any misunderstanding from Calvin, Sinabro informed him of Max’s death.

“Vice Tower Master Max is dead as well.”

—What?

—The Vice Tower Master is dead?

“Yes. I was looking into what happened when…”

Trailing off, Sinabro continued with a bitter expression.

It seems I’ll have to go there myself to confirm. Do you perhaps know anything?

At Sinabro’s question, Calvin gave no answer.

He was probably shocked by Max’s death.

It was right then.

Wuuung!

The dedicated communication crystal for the Holy Empire began to glow.

A call was coming from Ashilan.

“Please wait a moment.”

Sinabro temporarily paused the call with Calvin and accepted Ashilan’s.

—Sir Sinabro… I have news.

The moment the connection was made, Sinabro heard Ashilan’s voice filled with panic.

It made him uneasy.

What could he possibly say with such a voice?

“Yes, Sir Ashilan.”

For now, Sinabro responded to the call.

—I reported Vice Tower Master Max’s death to High Priest Rai.

—And High Priest Rai had something to say.

“…What is it?”

—This incident seems related to Gardion Tower.

“Gardion?”

Sinabro couldn’t help but ask in return.

Why was Gardion Tower suddenly being mentioned?

—Well…

In response to Sinabro’s question, Ashilan continued.

—Gaon has returned.

“…?”

Sinabro tilted his head.

Gaon?

But that confusion lasted only a moment.

“…!”

Recalling who Gaon was, Sinabro froze.

With a voice and face full of disbelief, he asked.

“Are you perhaps speaking of Gaon, the first Tower Master of Gardion Tower?”