The raid on the New Magic Tower would begin at dawn the next day, the moment the sun rises.
Magicians often immerse themselves in research throughout the night, causing their lifestyle patterns to be reversed in many cases.
Isla Machina is constantly filled with hazy steam. Perhaps because of this, even during the transition from dawn to morning, sunlight doesn't penetrate well, leaving it dark.
Living in an environment where one must spend time in dark or gloomy days rather than bright ones.
It was natural, in a way, that lifestyle patterns would form to match such an environment.
Scratch, scratch.
In the dark night, Rudger sat in a chair with a small gas lamp lit, moving his pen.
The black ink forming on the book contained details related to Rene's treatment method.
'Curse. Magic theory. Biology. All of these must be considered.'
It wasn't simply a matter of curses.Rene's body was currently in a state where space attribute magic power and divine power were entangled in chaos.
The more this happened, the faster Rene's body—which had become a battlefield—was breaking down.
Now there was a ceasefire due to Rudger's emergency measures, but it was impossible to know when the gradually boiling power would explode again.
It could happen later, but it could also happen right now.
He was suppressing it by periodically infusing energy, but that was merely a stopgap measure.
'The reaction is accelerating. At this rate, even my power won't be enough to suppress it.'
Even the mysterious power of real magic was insufficient.
The fundamental problem of divine power needed to be removed.
'I need to offset the divine power with a curse to make them mutually destroy each other. But that alone won't end everything.'
Even if the divine power disappears, Rene's space magic power, which was gradually growing stronger and expanding, would still remain a problem.
After removing the divine power, he would need to suppress the rampaging space attribute magic power.
Cravat might somehow remove the divine power with an ancient curse, but suppressing Rene's inherent space power was Rudger's responsibility.
'For that, I need to create a treatment.'
If this had happened suddenly, it would have taken considerable time, but fortunately, Rudger had prepared for this situation.
'I should be grateful to Bellaruna.'
His previous ongoing conversations with her about creating a treatment recipe now proved valuable.
Rudger's pen, which had been writing the recipe, suddenly stopped.
'But it's still not enough.'
The treatment he created with Bellaruna was from when they didn't know Rene's magic power was of the space attribute.
The medicine was designed assuming non-attribute magic power, so even if it showed some effect, complete recovery would be impossible.
For complete recovery, proper ingredients were needed, and additional processing steps had to be added.
'Even if I bring as many ingredients as possible from the New Magic Tower, without Bellaruna here now, the additional processing steps won't be easy.'
And he couldn't freely showcase his pharmaceutical knowledge learned from watching over shoulders.
If it concerned his own body, he could use all sorts of poisonous herbs, but Rene was different.
Her physical condition was now like thin ice covered with cracks.
One wrong touch, and she would shatter into pieces—a precarious state.
If the medicine's potency was even slightly too weak or too strong, Rene's body wouldn't withstand it.
Because of this, Rudger couldn't apply his knowledge directly to Rene.
'Unlike me, who remains fine after consuming any poison, Rene is not the same.'
Time, materials, data, samples.
Many things were lacking.
While pondering if there was no solution at this rate, Rudger's gaze turned to one side of the room.
He saw Rene lying on the bed as if sound asleep.
From the occasional trembling at the corners of her eyes, he could tell she was fighting a difficult battle.
'Rene.'
How surprised he had been when he first encountered her.
The only image of Rene that Rudger remembered was from over 10 years ago, from her childhood.
He had occasionally exchanged letters with Gabriel, only learning that she was doing well and studying magic.
Even then, he had been too busy lately to keep up with the news properly.
And then he met Rene again in Theon.
Becoming a teacher not by intention, but by getting caught up in an accident.
Who would have thought that would lead to encountering old connections again?
They say one doesn't know what lies ahead in life.
Or, was this some trick of fate?
Rudger hadn't seriously considered that. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say he deliberately avoided such contemplation.
A trick of fate.
What an infuriating phrase.
One's life belongs to oneself.
Past wounds, present pain, future fears.
Past memories, present comfort, future dreams.
These are not determined by fate, gods, or others.
They are things one must create and achieve with one's own hands.
That's why Rudger didn't believe in fate.
He maintained this belief despite knowing that gods existed in this world and possessed transcendental powers because what defines me is not anyone else, but myself.
The same goes for himself and the same goes for others.
They should have the right to choose their own lives.
Even if someone chooses a life of submission to another, if they chose it of their own will, that can be respected.
But being denied even the opportunity to choose was absolutely unacceptable.
'That's why I will save her.'
He had seen enough of people having their futures stolen by fate.
The misery and helplessness, the sadness and self-loathing experienced that day.
Reflecting on those feelings, he had lived fiercely and grown stronger, walking through a bloody path of thorns without stopping.
It was enough if someone else didn't have to shed tears equal to the blood he had shed.
"I must find a way."
As Rudger muttered to himself, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind.
—You must not fail.
Rudger abruptly raised his head.
He unraveled the magical formula pulled from his memory.
The formula composed of pure white code arranged in the air, drawing all kinds of equations and combinations.
"Andrei Semov."
Rudger quietly uttered one person's name.
"Thank you."
Gabriel couldn't sit still, apparently anxious.
Tomorrow—no, since midnight had passed, the operation would begin at dawn today.
Even after running simulations in his head countless times, there was no guarantee it would actually go well.
For Gabriel, who had always done things with certainty and safety, the unknown was extremely unsettling.
"Sit still, will you? You're not a child."
Cravat, unable to stand watching Gabriel, clicked his tongue and pointed this out.
Despite looking much younger than Gabriel to anyone's eyes, the comment from Cravat felt jarring, but Gabriel had no time to point that out.
"Aren't you nervous, Mr. Cravat?"
"Why would I be? I don't have much to do anyway."
"Well, I am! I have to enter the New Magic Tower without knowing what dangers lurk inside!"
"Didn't you say you're going to freeze time? Then there's no risk of being caught by anyone, right?"
"That's true, but..."
Seeing Gabriel’s hesitation, Cravat stared at him silently before speaking.
"I see. You're not afraid of raiding the New Magic Tower; you're afraid of using your ability for an extended period."
Flinch.
Gabriel’s restless body froze in place.
"Wh-what are you talking about? I have no idea..."
"Don't try to hide it. How many people do you think actually like using their abilities in the first place?"
"Is that the case for you too, Mr. Cravat?"
"No? I do it because I like it."
"What?"
Gabriel stared at Cravat with a questioning look, as if asking why he said such a thing then.
"I'm saying I've seen many such people. Did I say I was like that? Well, judging by your reaction, my thoughts seem correct."
"Well..."
"I've heard the story. You were tricked by your so-called master into learning that magic, right?"
"...Something like that."
"Making someone invest all their talent into learning just one magic. I suppose that's what it takes to stop time or whatever."
"Are you envious?"
"Hardly. I've seen too many people who dug only one well and ended up dead."
"...Aren't you only focusing on curses, Mr. Cravat?"
"There are various types of curses. Besides, I know how to use other magic besides curses. That's different from you."
"..."
As Gabriel let out a grumbling sound, Cravat abruptly asked:
"So what's your relationship with that teacher fellow? And who is that sleeping girl?"
"That's..."
"Well, if it's a past you don't want to talk about, forget it. I don't intend to pry."
Seeing Cravat turn away as if genuinely uninterested, Gabriel felt oddly annoyed.
"...That man and I just had a bad fate."
When Gabriel began to speak, Cravat turned his head to look at him.
"He was disagreeable from the start. Acting like he knew everything despite being younger than me, pretending to be mature as if he were older."
"Isn't that just jealousy?"
"It's a bit different. Though that's part of it too, I suppose. Unlike me, his magical talent was exceptionally brilliant."
Gabriel let out a small laugh as he spoke.
"No. Maybe I was just envious of what I couldn't become."
To Gabriel, who had learned time magic, the sight of Rudger using various attribute magic and different types of magic was simply dazzling.
"But more fundamentally, it's about what happened with Rene."
"You called yourself a master, and he's a teacher. What exactly happened with that extraordinary girl?"
"The first entanglement wasn't with Rene, but with her mother."
"Her mother?"
"Yes. She was truly strong, beautiful, and had a kinder heart than anyone."
Gabriel’s voice was more excited than usual just remembering her.
But deep within, there was an undeniable sadness melting away.
"Was she someone you loved?"
The normal Gabriel would have blushed at this direct question and shouted "What are you talking about?"
"Yes. I truly loved her."
Cravat’s eyes widened in surprise at Gabriel’s answer.
"That's unexpected."
"It's the truth."
Gabriel gave a bitter smile.
He recalled Rene's mother from his memories.
The woman who looked exactly like the now grown-up Rene.
"Actually, though you might not believe me saying this, Rene's mom and I have known each other since childhood."
"Really?"
"Yes. When I was trying to learn time magic under my master, there were several others who wanted to learn it too. She was one of them."
The two young people quickly became friends.
In truth, it would be more accurate to say that Rene's mother was very sociable.
"It would have been strange not to fall for her. But in the end, I became the successor of time magic, and she left to learn other magic."
Even after parting, he believed without doubt that they would meet again someday.
Several years passed like that.
When they met again, Rene's mother was holding the hand of a very young child.
Just by looking at the identical appearance and hair color, it was easy to tell whose daughter she was.
"Well, I understood. To her, I was probably just a close friend, nothing more."
When asked about her husband, she just shook her head with a smiling face.
But Gabriel didn't mind.
He was happy just for the fact that he had met her again.
Gabriel acted as a father figure to Rene, who had no father.
He took care of her with utmost devotion and frequently interacted with her mother.
That's how things were until Rene turned from 6 to 7 years old.
"That's when I first met him."
Two people came to visit.
No, was it appropriate to use the designation for people?
One was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair, looking like a doll in a dress.
The other was Rudger in his young years, just becoming a young adult.
The combination of the two had a strange harmony and discord that somehow both matched and didn't match.
What was even more surprising was that Rene's mother greeted the blonde girl with a smile.
As the two conversed, naturally Gabriel and Rudger were left alone.
Gabriel observed Rudger closely.
'This guy. I don't like him.'
He looked like some noble young lord, but his sunken, lifeless eyes didn't sit well with Gabriel at all.
Shouldn't a man have some spirit and be full of passion?
'Hey. How old are you?'
So Gabriel, as the senior, took the initiative to speak first.
There was no reason they couldn't get along if he showed broadmindedness as an elder.
'Get lost.'
That was until such a response came back.
-Creak.
At that moment, the door opened, and Rudger came out.
Gabriel, stopping his reminiscence of the past, looked at Rudger.
"It's time."
Time to raid the New Magic Tower.