The Emperor pushed away his fatigue and swallowed a groan. Before him, the imperial palace's chief mage bowed his head, having rushed over in a panic since early morning.
The Emperor gazed at the chief mage with a troubled look and asked quietly.
"Is that true?"
"Regrettably, so it is."
"Is there nothing wrong with the magic nullification barrier protecting the imperial palace?"
"The barrier is operating normally. It is not external magic."
The imperial palace was protected by a massive magic nullification barrier. It was the type of barrier that completely blocked any magic without the imperial palace's approval.
All mages belonging to the imperial palace and all magical tools used within the palace had their identities and origins registered, allowing the Magic Department to track them in real time.
Yet today at dawn, a magical reaction was suddenly detected from a specific location.
The Emperor, who had been staring down at the chief mage, sank deep into his throne. Resting his chin on his hand, he asked in a low voice to the aides standing beside him.
"Count Ilon. You were there when the Black Tower was sealed."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Did you leave any magical tools inside?"
"There was nothing related to magic at all."
"How long has it been since that tower was closed?"
"It has been at least 40 years."
The Emperor rubbed his chin, lost in thought, then frowned.
"A magical reaction from a tower that has been closed for 40 years..."
This was precisely why the chief mage had come to the Emperor in such haste.
An unidentified magical reaction had been detected from a tower that had been sealed for 40 years.
The place called the Black Tower was located in the innermost corner of the imperial palace, in a spot no one visited. Compared to other palaces, it had an ordinary exterior with nothing particularly unusual inside.
Come to think of it, the existence of such a building in the imperial palace was strange. That place had occupied a corner of the imperial palace for a very long time, and the imperial family had kept the unused tower cleanly maintained.
The opinion to remove the Black Tower was one of the petitions that successive emperors had consistently received.
Finally, 40 years ago, that opinion was accepted. However, rather than removing it immediately, they compromised by withdrawing the manpower and costs that had been devoted to the tower.
The Emperor tapped the armrest, lost in thought.
"Is it dangerous magic?"
"According to the Magic Department's assessment, the energy differs from any attack magic. It is magic that cannot be identified from the outside. We need to check the interior for accurate analysis."
The chief mage continued with a determined voice.
"I will first place a barrier around the tower."
"Make the preparations."
The Emperor nodded and signaled to his subordinates at his side.
"Count Ilon, convey to Sir Dane to deploy knights around the Black Tower."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Marquis Harrison, send letters to Duke Roam and Duke Andrea to enter the palace immediately. Send someone to the Crown Prince as well."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
As the Emperor watched his subordinates move quickly, he frowned and stood up. He walked slowly to the window and pursed his lips in thought.
"The Black Tower..."
* * *
"It's dark."
[Don't worry, timid male. There are no enemies here.]
At Xenon's frightened appearance, Nesi offered comfort that missed the mark entirely. However, at Nesi's growling, Xenon's shoulders shrank even further.
"The fact that Nesi is growling like this means there must be something down here!"
"Since it's noisy, how about we leave him behind and go down?"
Samuel, who couldn't stand listening anymore, frowned and asked me. At that, Xenon shot back with an aggrieved expression, and Samuel glared at such a Xenon with disdain....
Ignoring their usual grumbling with practiced ease, I raised the lamp and walked ahead. As Xenon had said, it was dark, but not impassable.
As I was striding down the gloomy stairs, black smoke suddenly swirled together from empty air. It was a ghost.
[How does that holy knight know about the secret passage leading underground?]
The ghost seemed genuinely curious. I had heard the answer to that earlier. Samuel had dismissed it by saying he saw it in a dream, and judging by his expression, it was probably true.
"He said he saw it in a dream."
[This monastery has been abandoned for a long time.]
"God must have shown it to him."
[That man is not God's agent. Neither the thread of fate nor the touch of rest can be felt from him.]
"Does there have to be traces like that?"
[Of course. Especially those chosen by Birth are bound to the thread of fate, so it is impossible not to know.]
Then the dream Samuel had must have nothing to do with divine revelation. It really was just a random dream.
"Ah, this must be it."
The stairs were shorter than expected. The door at the end appeared to be firmly locked, but it couldn't withstand Samuel's kick and shattered.
Bang!
As the door panel fell, the interior was revealed. The basement was wider than expected. Inside, there was a hole in the ceiling letting in some light from outside.
"Huh?"
As soon as they entered the basement, Xenon approached the wall with curiosity. When he traced the wall with his hand, bright light came from various places.
"Magic? A type I've never seen before. Ancient magic? What's the principle?"
Xenon's eyes sparkled as he examined the illuminated areas closely. Samuel, who discovered dust-covered books in various parts of the now-bright basement, also took interest and pulled out a book.
"These are records not only from the early days of the monastery but also documenting the temple culture of that time. Materials this old are hard to find even at the Great Temple. This is surprising."
If Samuel, who normally didn't show much emotional change, was this surprised, they must be quite rare records.
Looking at the two people caught up in unexpected academic enthusiasm with mixed feelings, I decided to first look around the basement slowly.
This place was probably a small chapel. Except for fine dust floating in the air, it was in relatively clean and intact condition.
Ah, except for the hole in the ceiling.
After a rough scan, it felt like a small prayer room combined with an office. There didn't seem to be anything special, so I should follow Samuel and dig through some books....
"Huh?"
Something caught my eye as I was heading toward the bookshelf. Something was faintly glowing on the floor inside the basement.
Looking carefully, there was a dust-covered carpet, and light was emanating from the embroidered pattern on the carpet.
[That is a trace of authority.]
"Like the stone statue upstairs?"
[The stone statue was a spool that had wound the thread of fate around it. In contrast, the carpet is not the authority of Birth. Therefore, we cannot approach it. But you are the goddess's proxy, so you should be able to use the authority. Please lead us to mercy with that.]
The ghost urged me with an anxious tone.
"You said you don't even know what power that is."
[Death hoped for the rest of all things and opposed Birth. I am certain it is the hand of Rest.]
It was a claim I couldn't trust at all. I decided to first hear an expert's opinion.
"Xenon, can you take a look at this carpet?"
At my call, Xenon readily approached.
"The carpet?"
"Yeah. This one."
Xenon tilted his head.
"It doesn't seem to have any magical power imbued in it. The formula is... too old to identify properly."
"But it's glowing."
"It's glowing?"
Facing Xenon's bewildered face, I became even more puzzled. What, is it only visible to my eyes?
* * *
Maxwell gazed at the Black Tower with somewhat bored eyes. The Black Tower had been closed before he was even born. If not for today's commotion, it was a place he would have lived without knowing whether it existed or not.
Nowhere in the imperial palace's history was there any record regarding the Black Tower. Its origin was passed down only orally, and all of them were bizarre and absurd tales.
That ultimately meant it was a place that hobbyists only occasionally mentioned when they were bored.
The fact that an unapproved magical reaction occurred within the imperial palace where a magic nullification barrier was placed was certainly something that needed to be handled importantly.
It was related to the imperial palace's security, after all. However, Maxwell questioned whether this was something that required gathering everyone in such a commotion.
He was already having fatigued days after visiting Immon. He didn't want to concern himself with every trivial disturbance.
"Since it was unprecedented, His Majesty's worry seems to be great."
It wasn't just Maxwell who found this situation excessive. Duke Andrea muttered with some dissatisfaction. However, Duke Roam standing beside him had a slightly different attitude.
"The mages said they don't sense any attack magic energy from inside, did they not?"
"Yes, that's what they said."
"And the magical reaction has quieted down now."
"They said that too."
Maxwell, who had been glancing at Duke Roam's side profile as he kept his lips pressed shut in thought, asked casually.
"Duke Roam, do you have any guesses?"
"No."
Just when Duke Roam seemed about to fall silent after that answer, he suddenly added.
"Has His Highness the Crown Prince perhaps never heard from His Majesty?"
"Heard what?"
"Stories about the Black Tower."
Maxwell frowned. The stories he knew about the Black Tower were all nothing but ghost stories.
"Do you know some special background to it?"
"Most have forgotten now, but the Black Tower was once called God's Door."
"God's Door?"
"It was said to be the passage through which God personally manifests when bestowing blessings upon the empire, so for a long time, no one dared to even think of destroying it, and thus it was left there."
But nowadays no one tries to remember such legends, Duke Roam concluded calmly.
To Maxwell as well, Duke Roam's words sounded quite absurd. God wouldn't come through such an old tower to bestow blessings.
In the first place, God delivered His will through temples. If the temple side learned the story of that Black Tower, they would certainly protest with an official letter immediately.
Thinking that far, Maxwell suddenly let out an exclamation at the realization.
"Ah, so that's why it was closed."
To avoid causing conflict with the temple?
Duke Roam stopped explaining and looked up at the Black Tower. From a little distance away, they watched as mages placed layer upon layer of barriers and knights took their positions.
The knight commander who had finished controlling the bystanders returned and made his report.
"All preparations are complete. We can tear off the boards and open the door whenever you give the command."
"Begin the wor..."
Just as Maxwell was about to give the order, the chief mage who had been waiting ran over with a pale face.
"Your Highness! The magical reaction is being detected again!"