◈ Chapter 410. Four Days, Time to Repay (2)
“…….”
The air was dry.
His skin felt parched.
Voices could be heard from the surroundings.
“Why is it suddenly so hot?”
“Ugh, it feels like my throat is burning.”
“Mommy, I want water…….”
Senior of Black Magic, Matisse Din Carl.
At this moment, he was sensing it.
The fact that Benswi William had been reborn into an uncontrollable flame.
Swish.
Matisse’s gaze turned toward the walls of Antonium.
Matisse himself was a Senior of the Magic Tower.
Therefore, he knew well what kind of existence a Senior of the Magic Tower was.
Each was an absolute authority of their school.
The true worth of those who had risen to such positions.
The Senior of Flame Magic Studies, Benswi, was no exception.
No, he was a little more special.
The corners of Matisse’s lips drew a small arc.
“Please don’t take it too personally, Benswi.”
The reason he had been especially strict with Benswi?
It was simple.
Because he was strong.
More so than ordinary Senior magicians.
The Flame Dragon, Karim Jeba subjugation. When chasing Elder Magician Karim Jeba, who had revealed himself as a demon worshipper, Matisse had accompanied Benswi. And he became certain.
—“Of course, if it were Secret Magic, there would be nothing I couldn’t handle, but…….”
He had already declared that he could contend with a demigod.
It was only natural, in a way.
It was merely hidden by his usually lighthearted disposition.
Because the renown of the Flame Emperor was no hollow illusion.
It was the William House, famed as a prestigious magical house even among houses of the arcane. Benswi William was a talent born in such a William House only once every few hundred years.
Matisse, when he compared the man to himself…… ‘At an age when all I did was wander the continent in pursuit of black magic.’ Benswi was already making a name for himself on the Arcana Continent at a similar age. Thus, Matisse had often thought. Benswi William—perhaps he truly ought to succeed Marcelo and Chief I Hoyeol.
Perhaps he was one qualified to be the next generation’s Chief.
Unlike a setting sun such as himself.
Because Benswi still held endless possibilities.
Because he had Benswi in mind as the next Chief.
Matisse had no choice but to be strict.
“So I hope you won’t feel too slighted.”
However, it wasn’t just him.
Because this Chief was here as well.
Matisse did not doubt Hoyeol’s judgment. ‘You can tell by the fact that he did not grant permission to leave the tower.’ This Chief, too, had recognized Benswi’s true worth.
Fearing the aftermath that would occur when he unleashed his full power.
He had surely kept Benswi’s leave requests strictly controlled.
See, even now.
From afar.
He had merely manifested his mana, yet……
Crackle, sizzle—The moisture in Antonium was drying up.
The splitting earth.
The blazing sun.
The sky where even the clouds had evaporated.
All heat was obeying him.
Thus, the severity of the situation sank in.
To the extent that permission to unleash his full power had been granted to Benswi William.
A dangerous event might have occurred inside Antonium.
Those stretching thorny vines might not be ordinary thorny vines.
However, Matisse was still smiling.
Because that meant this Chief knew everything.
If so…… ‘Was I, too, part of the Chief’s arrangement, and not only Benswi?’
Soon, Matisse raised the appropriate mana.
“Indeed, I cannot betray such heavy trust.”*……
Gulp.
Hisagi unknowingly swallowed dry saliva.
That man who, until just now, had been conversing in a light tone—was he truly the same Benswi?
Fwoosh!
The flames flickering from his body.
As if wearing a crown made of fire upon his head. As if wrapped in a mantle woven of flame. That was, quite literally, the form of the King of Flames, the Flame Emperor (炎帝).
Hidden Class, Magic Spearman.
Insight similar to that of a Magic Tower apprentice magician.
Perhaps thanks to that, Hisagi couldn’t hold back his admiration.
“That’s impossible…….”
A magic spear that wielded elements.
Hisagi had been developing skills and learning knowledge regarding elemental magic.
And such common sense of Hisagi was crumbling.
“H-how can there be such flames?”
Flame magic vied with pure magic for the worst mana efficiency.
Naturally.
The mana efficiency of elemental magic was determined by the environment.
Outside of an active volcano or a hellish inferno inside which no living person could even glimpse, flame could not exist in a natural state. That was why the mana efficiency of water elemental magic was outstanding. ‘Because moisture always exists in nature.’
It was at that moment that Hisagi’s common sense was shaken.
Benswi opened his mouth.
As a Senior Magician of the Magic Tower, he bestowed a lesson upon the apprentice magician.
“It is the William House’s Secret Magic, Apprentice Magician Hisagi.”
“……Secret Magic.”
“It is a decisive battle magic passed down through the family for generations. However, as an adventurer, you may not know the renown of the William House. Well, put simply…… The William House was called a prestigious magical house even before the Magic Tower existed.”
Hisagi was inwardly astonished.
……
He had been such an incredible man?
Hisagi, who had prided himself on being quick-witted. ‘No such arrogance, no such bluff could be felt from him.’
Benswi William.
Had he intentionally hidden greatness within his lightness?
Or was he simply humble?
“My insight was lacking, Senior Benswi.”
That ‘someone’ had been restraining Benswi.
It was something Hisagi could never have imagined.
Benswi nodded and added in a generous voice.
“My little brother must be worried.”
I should finish this as quickly as possible.
Benswi suddenly recalled his mother’s words.
With the talent you possess comes responsibility, Benswi.
—“Don’t forget. You must look around you at every moment.”
Benswi looked around, not forgetting that teaching.
He saw the Empire’s citizens bewildered by the heat he emanated.
Benswi made a decision.
“Doing this for four days straight would be impossible.”
It was not Benswi’s own limit.
The threshold at which the citizens of Antonium would not suffer harm from the heat emanating from him.
That was the limit he spoke of.
Flick.
Benswi lightly flicked his finger through the air.
Flames surged up in the direction his finger moved.
The thorny vines climbing down the castle walls burned and crumbled as they were.
Hisagi’s serpentine eyes widened. ‘Vast Antonium.’
To the extent that even if a dragon rampaged on the opposite side, one would not know.
Such was the capital of the Empire, boasting vast territory.
Benswi’s flames had completely covered the walls surrounding Antonium.
‘This is a different dimension.’
That was precisely a Senior Magician of the Magic Tower.
And among them, one who could be called the flower of practical combat magic.
Was this the full power of the Senior of Flame Magic Studies?……
The west of Antonium.
“Ah, hot. What the heck is that flame……?”
The hilt of the sword in her hand grew hot. Her armor was the same. It was the moment Leoni furrowed her brow and glared at the flames that had shot up out of nowhere.
Velier’s lips parted.
“In the end, what I feared has become reality.”
“Feared? Do you know something?”
“I do, Miss Leoni. How could I not know the Flame Emperor?”
“……Flame Emperor?”
Velier raised her mana instead of answering.
Having suffered from mana exhaustion, she had regained consciousness a few hours ago.
Because of that, the manifestation process could not be swift, but……
“I too must not malinger any longer.”
Velier gritted her teeth.
Leoni, who was watching, tilted her head.
Wait, the Flame Emperor? ‘Wasn’t that…… the nickname of the blond-haired Senior?’
If her eyes and ears had not deceived her, that meant those flames were magic manifested by Benswi.
Even if he had seemed frivolous, he was not a Senior Magician for nothing. Benswi’s flames were overwhelming Antonium’s thorny vines.
At a time when they were winning, there should have been nothing to worry about.
“But why a protective spell……?”
This time, Velier answered with action.
“Unlike us, who possess resistance to all sorts of status abnormalities including heat, the Empire’s frail citizens have no means to endure this level of heat.”
“……?!”
Leoni turned around at those words and flinched.
Thud.
Truly, Arcanians could be seen collapsed here and there.
All of them were clutching their throats.
The aftereffect of moisture evaporating in an instant was clear.
Velier healed the fallen as she continued speaking.
“I do hope this fight will not drag on.”……
He realized faster than anyone.
And he was more worried than anyone.
Naeshwi William breathed his older brother’s name.
“Brother Benswi……?”
Just like the Ice Dragon.
The realm of transformation that dominated the surrounding environment.
This was……!
There was no doubt.
His brother had clearly manifested the house’s Secret Magic.
Nam Taemin flinched and asked again.
“That is Senior Benswi’s magic?”
It was Nam Taemin, who had encountered Benswi while going in and out of the Magic Tower as part of the Holy War Allied Forces.
A man too frivolous to be called a Senior of the Magic Tower. That had been the impression of Benswi left on Nam Taemin.
Nam Taemin shook his head vigorously.
“Damn, I completely misjudged him.”
Normally, toward someone who had underestimated his brother.
He would have proudly sung his brother’s praises.
But Naeshwi had no such leisure.
“……It’s dangerous.”
“Surely, is there some kind of price for the Secret Magic?”
“No, that is not what I mean.”
Naeshwi answered firmly.
That was right; it was not Brother Benswi who was in danger.
It was the Empire’s citizens who would be caught up in the flames his brother had manifested.
“Sir Nam Taemin, can you guess what kind of stories I, the second son of the William House, grew up hearing from my parents?”
“Suddenly? Well?”
The common point of being brothers.
What came to Nam Taemin’s mind was his own brother, Nam Cheolmin.
Cheolmin hyung had truly been amazing since childhood.
After the Great Upheaval, a world where numbers were everything.
The world was only now gradually recognizing Cheolmin hyung’s true worth, but…… The people close to us brothers had been saying such things to me since long ago.
—“What would you have done without Cheolmin hyung?”
—“You survived this time thanks to Cheolmin hyung’s strategy too.”
—“Seriously, even the AAU probably wouldn’t know about this, right?”
Nam Taemin, who had recalled Nam Cheolmin, smiled slightly.
“Always treat your brother well?”
Naeshwi smiled slightly and answered.
“It seems your brother is a good person, Sir Taemin.”
Then he continued bitterly.
“But my case was a little different. It is not that Brother Benswi is a bad person. I am speaking of the rules passed down in the William House.”
The inheritance magic of the William House, which held immense power.
It was a secret permitted only to the eldest son.
Then what did the other bloodlines learn in place of the Secret Magic?
Naeshwi spat out a secret that even Benswi did not know.
“To protect the succession of the Secret Magic with one’s life.”
“W-with your life?”
“That is correct. From now on, I must watch Brother Benswi’s mana. So that the William House’s secret, the Calamitous Flame, does not devour my brother. Perhaps, as my parents taught, I may have to lay down my life.”
“What kind of……!”
“It is cruel, but that is the William House.”
No matter how incomprehensible it was.
He could not disparage another’s house.
When Nam Taemin reluctantly closed his mouth, Naeshwi smiled.
“You need not worry. I am prepared.”
So Brother need not worry either.
My life, since long ago……
……I had considered giving it for my brother, so it does not matter.
Naeshwi gazed at the fiercely surging flames.
He nodded.
‘Rampage to your heart’s content, Brother Benswi.’
You need not worry about anything…….
King of Flames.
The diadem of flame placed upon his head by the Secret Magic was provoking Benswi.
With mana that revealed no bottom, with flames that no one could restrain, with the power to burn everything away.
It was whispering to Benswi.
That he was the very root of flame magic, the pinnacle of magic in this era.
The William House being called a prestigious house was not without reason.
The disposition of the Flame Emperor that settled in the body upon learning the Secret Magic was specialized in trampling other magicians.
However, Benswi had not forgotten.
His pride.
—“Don’t forget. You must look around you at every moment.”
The fact that his mother’s cheeks, as she spoke those words, were always swollen.
The urge he had felt each time to incinerate his own father.
His resolve when he escaped from such a house and entered the Magic Tower.
—“I’m going to break the damned William rules, Naeshwi.”
But it was amusing.
The Flame Dragon, Karim Jeba.
He had thought that with that man’s insight, he could find a clue to controlling the Secret Magic.
That he had been a demon worshipper.
He had not shown it, but he had truly felt like damning him back then.
But it was unbelievable.
Chief I Hoyeol, who had uncovered Karim Jeba’s truth. That Chief had failed his application to leave the tower. It must have been truly bothersome. Thanks to him signing the failure without missing a single day.
Dozens of times.
Hundreds of times.
Thanks to giving him the opportunity to reflect on himself.
Benswi came to realize.
Benswi muttered toward the whispering flames.
“The pinnacle of magic, me?”
A smile no different from usual.
With a perfectly sound mind.
The Flame Emperor had completely mastered the Calamitous Flame.
“Could such words even come out after seeing our Chief?”