"What did you just say?"
"They destroyed all the materials we gathered to treat Rene. I tried my best to protect them, but..."
Gabriel couldn't finish his sentence because Rudger grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up.
"Do you call that an explanation? You should have hidden them! You should have put them somewhere safe where they couldn't find them!"
"...I'm ashamed."
If it had been the usual Gabriel, he would have shouted back that he was wronged too, but this time was different.
Looking at Gabriel’s dejected response, as if he had lost everything, Rudger glared at him before abruptly releasing his grip on Gabriel’s collar.
Gabriel slumped down weakly.
In that sight, Rudger overlaid a scene from the past.
-No. I said no.The image of Gabriel’s back as he held her cold corpse and wailed remained vivid in Rudger's memory.
How could he not know?
From Gabriel’s expressions and the look in his eyes whenever he saw Rene's mother, it was clear how much he loved her.
While pursuing an impossible love and forcing himself to accept it, yet unable to let go of his feelings, Rudger thought Gabriel was quite foolish.
But Rudger didn't dislike such a fool.
Although they bickered and fought on the surface, Rudger knew how precious Gabriel was to Rene and her mother.
Who was it that took away his loved one from such a man?
Rudger looked down at his hands.
The bloodstains were warm, as if they still held the warmth of the deceased.
Rudger found that warmth chilling.
With trembling eyes, he looked at the bushes where Rene, unable to accept reality, and Freden, who stood beside her with eyes wide in shock, could be seen.
Recalling that moment, Rudger bit his lip.
"First... we need to develop a treatment method."
There was no time to dwell in helplessness. For now, they needed to find a way to stabilize Rene's condition.
The materials could be gathered again. Rudger consoled himself with that thought.
"I'll find a way. You check Rene's condition first."
"How do you plan to do it?"
"I'll figure something out."
"...You're not giving up?"
To Gabriel’s question, Rudger asked in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Are you going to give up?"
"..."
Just then, Whiron and Cravat arrived.
"What a mess. Hey, weakling! Are you okay?"
"He doesn't seem badly injured, but the bigger issue is whether we can treat him properly in this chaos."
Cravat clicked his tongue looking at the devastated surroundings.
His skills weren't so mediocre as to be affected by the environment, but still, there was a matter of mood.
At that moment, a crow flew from a distance and perched on Cravat’s shoulder.
-Caw. Caw.
As the crow cawed, Cravat’s expression stiffened slightly.
"I see. So it ended that way. Alright. Thanks for letting me know. You all should also prepare for any potential situations."
The crow, as if understanding his words, spread its wings and flew off somewhere.
"Huh? What was that? You can talk to crows too?"
"It's not a crow but one of our Ancient Curse faculty members."
"You received a crow as an Ancient Curse faculty member?!"
Cravat frowned deeply.
"...It's not that I received a crow, but they transformed into a crow using a curse."
"What? I thought... So what did they say?"
"It seems there's a problem with magician Rotheron who was heading to the New Magic Tower."
At the mention of Rotheron having problems, everyone's attention turned to Cravat.
"Don't tell me he was captured by the opposing faction?"
"It's a similar situation. The opposition moved faster than we thought. They mobilized the internal inspection unit of the Magic Tower to capture Rotheron."
"An unexpected internal inspection in these chaotic times. There must have been a lot of talk."
Rotheron was one of the top skilled individuals in the [Proletariat] faction.
The fact that the internal inspection unit suddenly took him away was an explicit political attack.
The Proletariat faction wouldn't simply accept such actions.
Rather, they would likely retaliate with interest, including for the parts they had been dissatisfied with.
"The Bourgeois bastards must be quite desperate."
Whiron snorted with his arms crossed.
Moving despite knowing there would be backlash meant that the tail Rotheron had stepped on was too sensitive.
Too large to cut off, leaving no choice but to confront it.
"Their brazen actions suggest they have significant backing."
Rudger seemed to understand why the Bourgeois faction wanted to capture Rotheron.
With this choice, the New Magic Tower would ultimately be divided in half and fight.
No, since the Bourgeois faction had earned much infamy, their position based on justification would be even more disadvantageous.
Despite that, the fact that they started this now meant they judged it was worth trying according to their calculations.
"Nikolai must be behind this."
With the large sum gathered from the dark wizards' struggle, and added support from joining hands with Nikolai, they launched this.
"The one who had been hiding and manipulating the situation from behind wouldn't move carelessly. Does he now think there's no need to hide anymore?"
"Having already deployed this many experimental units, he must have judged that hiding further would be meaningless."
If Nikolai had begun to move with determination, it meant there was no time to spare on this side either.
"First, we need to continue researching for a cure."
"For that, we need materials as a medium for the curse."
"Speaking of which, there's one piece of bad news. Some of the materials were lost in the recent attack."
At Rudger's words, Gabriel bowed his head in shame.
Cravat asked with a serious face.
"What about the reagents and mediums that can be used for curses?"
"I managed to protect those somehow. But the materials needed for the treatment medicine to improve Rene's condition afterward..."
They were lost in that fight.
"...Even if I can proceed with my part, what about after that? Planning to raid the Magic Tower again?"
"There's no way we can do the same thing twice. Besides, the materials that were lost can't be obtained again. We took everything that was inside."
"...Doesn't this make everything meaningless?"
"That's why I'm planning to come up with a plan now."
"What kind of plan?"
Cravat was willing to at least hear what Rudger had to say.
"Cravat. I want you to use the remaining reagents and materials to remove the divine power rampaging in Rene's body. Would that be possible?"
"Yes, it's possible. But what are you planning to do afterward? We can't go to the Magic Tower, and we can't obtain the materials from the market either."
"We'll use substitutes."
"You have substitutes?"
"Yes. If we had lost the precious materials to be used as a curse medium, there would be no solution. But we can replace the medicine that controls the rampaging magical power afterward."
"Those were quite rare materials, so to replace them, wouldn't we need something equally rare?"
"That's right. And conveniently, there's someone on this island who has that rare item. More than enough of it."
After racking his brain, Cravat immediately realized who Rudger was referring to.
"Nikolai! You mean him!"
"He used World Tree cells to create biological experimental subjects. The cells of the World Tree, which can be called the source of life, are sufficient as a substitute for the lost materials. There should be many other reagents as well."
"Even if it's a World Tree cell, isn't it too dangerous to handle carelessly? Wouldn't it be even more dangerous?"
"You don't need to worry about that. At least, there's no one here who knows the World Tree better than me."
Cravat wanted to ask what kind of confidence that was, but Whiron burst out laughing next to him, so he couldn't bring himself to ask.
"Kuhahaha! Splendid, teacher! Your spirit is impressive! But will you be alright? We'll have to fight that vile Nikolai."
"I was planning to fight him anyway."
"When a man has set his mind, I can't stop him! I'll help you!"
The sight of Whiron pounding his chest with his fist couldn't be more reassuring.
Since Rudger had already been planning to ask for help, he decided to accept Whiron’s goodwill.
"Wait. What about Rotheron then?"
Cravat brought up the person who wasn't present.
Shouldn't they help Rotheron, who was now detained by the inspection unit of the opposing faction?
At that, Rudger and Whiron exchanged glances before saying almost simultaneously.
"Not necessary."
"Not necessary, I'd say."
"What? But weren't you all acquaintances? Are you being so cold?"
"You seem to misunderstand, thinking we're abandoning him, but it's the opposite."
"The opposite?"
"Rotheron is a 6th-rank magician. You know what that means, don't you?"
Cravat then realized he had been worrying unnecessarily.
Rudger drove home his point to Cravat’s thoughts.
"If he sets his mind to it, nothing can stop him."
Rotheron, seated in the investigation room inside the New Magic Tower, stared straight ahead.
Facing that iron mask was a 5th-rank magician from the Inspection Department.
Inspection Chief Dimpelmosser.
"If it were another magician, I would have restrained their entire body. But since you, Rotheron, have contributed to the Magic Tower until now, I won't go that far."
Dimpelmosser spoke triumphantly, as if he were bestowing a great favor.
Rotheron clenched and unclenched his fists.
His body was free, with no restraining devices, but that freedom was mere facade.
The very space he was sitting in, this investigation room itself, was already a prison.
No matter how powerful a magical force one might rampage with, it would be futile here.
The magitech device surrounding the entire room would inversely absorb the magical power, redirecting it as an energy source for the Magic Tower.
Meanwhile, Dimpelmosser continued speaking.
"Rotheron, you'll have to wait here until you prove your innocence. Don't worry. Of course, that process won't take too long."
"I'm sure it won't."
Rotheron slightly sneered at the man before him, Dimpelmosser.
"After framing me with non-existent suspicions and pulling off something like this, you must be quite afraid of our faction's protests."
"Ahem. What do you mean by that?"
"Isn't this a ploy to buy time, thinking that a short detention would be sufficient?"
"If you keep insulting our Inspection Department with such groundless claims, it will be difficult for us to accommodate you."
"Accommodate? Did you just say 'accommodate'?"
Rotheron couldn't help but let out a cynical laugh.
"I knew you were secretly doing dirty, evil deeds behind the scenes, but I never imagined you'd act so despicably."
"What are you suddenly talking about?"
"No, perhaps I just wanted to believe. That as people walking the path of magic, they would have at least a bit of pride. But they didn't at all."
Rotheron newly realized his own inadequacy.
Born as a beastkin, and with the bloodline and talent to become the next chief, he had left for the human world, thinking there was no future for them.
He had tried to adapt to the world's life, thinking he was different from other beastkin, but he had been wrong.
"I was no different from the beastkin I tried to escape from. Admitting this much actually feels refreshing."
Rotheron let out a low laugh from beneath his mask.
"...Don't move!"
Dimpelmosser abruptly stood up, pointing his staff at Rotheron.
"If you move carelessly here, you'll truly be proving your guilt!"
"Even if I claim innocence, aren't you planning to drag out the time forcibly? And this is quite strange. Since when has a 5th-rank magician dared to raise his head and tense his neck before me?"
Intense magical power began to flow around Rotheron’s body.
Facing this directly, Dimpelmosser felt his breath catch.
'Is this the aura of a 6th-rank magician?'
He had been somewhat confident, being a 5th-rank himself.
People highly regarded the 6th-rank, but he had consoled himself that it was just a difference of one rank.
But the power of a Lexer-class magician he faced now was not just that.
It was just one rank difference, but...
A wall higher than the sum of all the paths he had walked so far stood before him.
"E-even if you raise magical power here, do you think you can escape! You must know how this investigation room was made!"
"Yes, I know well. Better than anyone."
Rotheron said that as he grabbed his mask with his hand and removed it.
"The m-mask?"
Why was Iron Mask Rotheron famous?
He was known for never showing his appearance to others.
Though called "Iron Mask," he wore a large helmet that made breathing difficult, which couldn't help but draw people's attention.
Rotheron’s appearance was revealed.
Dimpelmosser's eyes widened upon seeing the beast ears protruding from his head.
'B-beastkin!'
The identity of Iron Mask Rotheron was a beastkin, a race that humans looked down upon as barbaric.
But Dimpelmosser shock didn't end there.
Behind Rotheron, a translucent giant figure began to emerge.
"Who do you think came up with the magical knowledge that went into making this investigation room?"
Revealing his true self that he had been hiding all along, Rotheron bared his sharp teeth at Dimpelmosser.
"I made it."
"What..."
"Of course."
Rotheron crushed the mask with the strength of his hand.
"I also know its weaknesses best."