Ch. 172 - Seventh Main Tower (4)

Chapter 172: The 7th Tower (4)

Having read the original light novel three times, Flame had quite a sharp memory of the major events unfolding in Aether World.

While she naturally understood what was happening in the 7th Tower, preparing detailed strategies was impossible.

Mostly due to the fact that, being a romance fantasy genre, most combat scenes were either skipped or passed over briefly.

Much of the scenes were filled with character’s psychological descriptions, leaving little room for battle tactics.

If Baek Yu-Seol is there, she would have presented more effective strategies, but since he’s not there, Flame prepared to the best of her memory and knowledge.

‘Most of the strange monsters appearing in the 7th Tower were of the dark attribute.’

While Flame’s light magic could be very effective, there was a crucial difference between it and the divine magic used by real angels or priests of the Holy Church.

She had not yet realized the divine aspect of magic, so bringing the Sacred Symbol and holy water as countermeasures was a pretty good judgment.

Kiki kiki kiki!

Giggle

Ghosts hovered in the air, and shadows crept up from all directions.

Flame and her group sprinted down the corridor at full speed, trying to evade them, forgetting that Jeremy was following behind.

‘I'm glad I brought the symbol.’

The Sacred Symbol was like a crucifix necklace in Christianity, or perhaps like a prayer bead in Buddhism, except that it actually possessed divine power, unlike in reality.

Although it wasn't properly mentioned in the original light novel, as expected, it was very effective in repelling the ghosts of the 7th Tower.

Poof!

When the circle-shaped symbol flashed, the approaching shadows and ghosts hesitated and retreated.

However, since it wasn't a very expensive symbol, it had its limits in terms of usage.

‘If I keep using it like this, it won’t last long…’

Flame had spent her own money to bring as many symbols and holy water as possible, but it was still not enough.

"Ah!"

When Anella, who was stumbling while casting magic, fell backward, Flame swiftly threw a symbol at her.

Zing! As a result, the approaching ghosts were pushed back by a burst of white sparks.

"Get a grip! What are you doing?"

"S-sorry...."

Anella tightly shut her lips with a pale face.

Anella bit her lips, her face pale. Although she was skilled at manipulating others' traumas and confusing them, she had hardly any experience with direct combat, which made her mind go blank.

‘I’m over 40 years old, though…’

Despite her lack of combat experience, she felt pathetic for holding back the group of mere 17-year-olds.

Waves of thick self-reproach surged over her, but she didn't let herself drown in it.

"There's a lab nearby! Let's evacuate there for now!"

"Anella! Hurry!"

“O-Okay… Ah!”

Flame almost forcibly pushed Anella into the lab with a fierce grip and then handed her a symbol on her chest.

"Hold onto this. If you lose it, I'll kill you."

"... Thanks."

Although Flame spoke harshly, Anella felt both gratitude and guilt for being given one of the precious symbols, of which only a few remained. Being a burden was a truly miserable feeling.

"What's it like outside?"

Approaching Eisel, who sealed the door to the corridor with a magic circle drawn with holy water, Flame asked.

In response, she replied with a stern expression.

"It's full of ghosts. I never knew there were so many ghosts in Stella."

"This is bad.... Other students must have been dragged to the 7th Tower by now."

Was it this bad in the original light novel?

She wasn't sure.

There weren't such detailed descriptions.

The main content was simply that ‘Eisel was dragged to the 7th Tower, suffered various torments from the ghosts there, but she was rescued by Hae Won-Ryang.’

There was no way of knowing what Eisel did inside or how many ghosts appeared.

'Should I have brought more symbols just in case?'

Even though she thought ten would be excessive, now that she only had three left, it seemed insufficient.

And Hong Bi-Yeon’s whereabouts had not yet been found.

'Where could she be...'

She bit her nails while recalling the original light novel.

First, where was Professor Maizen Tyren?

The exact location wasn't specified, but she distinctly remembered it being an open space with windows all around, showing the sky.

But, did such a place exist in Stella?

‘…No, there is. The observatory on the top floor.’

Every tower had a top floor, namely the rooftop, which was usually locked and inaccessible to students.

Therefore, she had never been up to the rooftop, but she was familiar with how it looked.

‘So, we need to go to the rooftop…’

Thud! Thud!

But before she could finish her thought, the ghosts' assault began again.

Eisel poured mana into the boundary of the door gap and said with a weary expression.

“Ugh…! The ghosts are consuming the space!”

"What? But we sealed the door with holy water...."

Without finishing her sentence, Flame looked up with a dismayed expression.

Slowly, dark mist was creeping into the laboratory.

Then she realized.

The 7th Tower itself was a ghost story.

In other words, unless sealed with holy water wherever hidden, it meant that it was eventually within the jurisdiction of the ghosts.

"Damn it! Let's run outside for now! We'll be completely trapped if we stay here!"

"Yes!"

Eisel hurriedly traced the holy water boundary and tried to open the door, but she couldn't budge it at all.

"Uh, the ghosts are blocking the door from the outside!"

"These damn bastards!"

She cursed roughly, kicked the door with all her might, but naturally, it didn't open with such force.

Thump! Thud!

Amidst Eisel and Flame struggling with the closed door, Anella, who had been quietly squatting, turned her head at the sound coming from behind.

"... Huh?"

And she saw something strange.

Skeleton models that would have been used in biology experiments and anatomical model to teach human anatomy started to move.

Clack!

The eyeballs of the anatomical model rolled, meeting Anella's eyes.

"Ah."

For three seconds, her brain froze.

It wasn't because she was scared.

She was just bewildered by the rotten, dead-eyed look it gave her, as if it was mocking her.

“Now even models are looking down on me…”

She was over forty years old, after all…

It was unfair and frustrating.

She had already lived a pitiful and miserable life, and she didn't want to be disregarded by the young ones so blatantly.

Thud!

Veins popped on her fist.

While fully embracing the dark magic, a Dark Mage loses their ability to use magic entirely, and their innate characteristics and physical abilities increase significantly.

However, she had already lost all her innate characteristics and couldn't use magic, so... increasing her physical abilities through embracing the dark magic was essential for combat.

‘There’s no one watching, right?’

Flame already had some idea of her own identity, and while she was concerned about the girl named Eisel... She thought it was much better to reveal her strength here than to hide and be defeated.

'Remember. Once you unseal more than 50% of your dark magic, you can't hide it again.’

The advice she received from various officials of the Dark God Sect echoed in her ears.

Then, wouldn't it be enough to just not let it reach 50%?

Anella lightly clenched her fist and threw a jab.

She had never learned it anywhere and had never professionally trained her body, so this was her first attempt at close combat.

Whoosh~!!

The air was sliced, and all the ghosts in front were turned into dust in an instant.

"What. What’s this?!"

Flame and Eisel, who were preparing magic to break through the door and escape, turned around in surprise.

Anella stood still with her fist outstretched, and behind her lay the completely cracked wall of the laboratory.

"What is this..."

"What kind of magic was that just now...?"

The girls were astonished, but Anella couldn't answer.

To be precise, Anella was also the one whow as astonished.

'What kind of power is this?'

Despite living as a Dark Mage, she had never tried punching properly because she was very afraid, so she didn't know her own strength.

Anella said to them with a bewildered expression.

“Uh, well… the wall… is broken…”

"...Yeah. Let's go that way."

They were unable to open the door because of the ghosts blocking it from the outside.

However, thanks to Anella, a convenient and easier path was formed before them.

The girls quickly escaped from the laboratory.

"To the rooftop! That scumbag will be caught there!"

"Yes!"

Back in the corridor, Flame’s group sprinted towards the stairs with all their might.

Using the elevator in a place full of ghosts was suicide.

They had to break through dozens of floors of stairs, but thanks to Anella's significant assistance, their marching speed was much faster than before.

"Eek!"

It was a battle cry.

"Aaah!"

It was not a scream but a battle cry.

Anella drove the ghosts away from the forefront with her amateur but powerful punches and kicks. It allowed them to cast magic more leisurely from behind and focus more effectively on defense, significantly increasing their speed.

It was undoubtedly good news that Anella provided significant help with her full strength, considering they had to break through dozens of floors of stairs ahead.

'We might make it like this!'

However...

"Huh...?"

Why hadn't they thought of that?

The 7th Tower was a ghost domain itself.

If they could manipulate every space in the building, wouldn't the stairs be influenced as well?

"What's this..."

Anella gazed ahead with astonishment.

Stella's tower had a spiral staircase at the point where corridors from four directions met.

Small warp holes were installed there, and the stairs moved to allow students to easily commute between upper and lower floors...

But there was nothing there.

There were gaping holes in the ceiling and floor, with no trace of stairs left.

It was as if stairs never existed in the first place.

"This is..."

They hadn't expected this at all.

It was as if the structure of the building were grotesquely distorted from the beginning.

'What should we do...?'

Flame desperately pondered.

There must be a solution.

Something they were missing, some way.

How did Eisel and Hae Won-Ryang overcome this obstacle in the original story?

There was no precise description.

Only the fact that Eisel received help from Hae Won-Ryang.

'Wait. If it's help from Hae Won-Ryang...?’

Then suddenly, she thought of something.

Someday, Hae Won-Ryang would become a highly successful Elemental Master who could perfectly manipulate all attributes.

Although currently he could only handle wind, ice, and fire, he mastered these three attributes almost to the highest level, so his reputation wouldn't diminish.

In other words, Hae Won-Ryang might already be able to use Air Levitation, one of the advanced wind spells.

Although there was no evidence of him using Air Levitation in the original work due to its extreme mana consumption, in such a crisis situation, couldn't he just fly himself up?

However, there was no user of air magic here.

In other words, there was no alternative means to replace the stairs.

They considered riding on Eisel’s ice and her own plant magic to ascend, but it was impractical.

Ice and plant magic were fundamentally weak in durability, and they would easily break under the assault of ghosts.

Summoning a giant tree trunk and enhancing its strength through material manipulation was possible, but...

Could they reach that height while using two different elemental magics simultaneously?

"Uh, the shadows have completely invaded the space!"

"Ugh, it's tough!"

Her thoughts were cut short.

Eisel and Anella began to kneel slowly as they were consumed by the shadows.

Now, only one symbol remained.

'If consumed by shadows, one will lose one's sense of self.'

She looked at the spot where the stairs had existed with eyes full of regret.

If she poured all her mana here, maybe she could ascend.

However, if that happened, she might lose Eisel and Anella.

'It's my fault.'

It was a hasty decision.

She should have thought and judged more carefully.

Did she underestimate the warning for the 7th Tower's Dark Magic Corruption?

Even Baek Yu-Seol said, ‘Because it's dangerous, we must prepare.’

... Was she underestimating it?

‘I’m such an idiot and a fool.’

Blood dripped from her lips as she bit them too hard.

However, she didn’t feel the pain.

Flame dashed towards Eisel and Anella with all her might.

There was no other choice.

Even if it meant depleting all her mana here, she had to endure.

‘I can do this.’

Eisel was the protagonist.

The one and only protagonist of this world.

Even if she was defeated here, she must protect her.

Closing her eyes tightly, she recited the spell.

Unlike other magic, spells of light magic had specific tones, and they sounded like a song.

"Saaaah!"

Golden rays of light spread out from Flame.

Darkness was consumed by the light, and the ghosts melted away.

Under the intense and divine light, Anella and Eisel hesitated, stepped back and sat down.

"What is this..."

It was a type of magic they had never seen before in their lives.

It wasn't destructive or dazzling, but it cleansed all darkness in the vicinity.

Instantly, the darkness dissipated, and light filled the room.

Anella couldn't help but think, ‘Beautiful…’

She was a failure as a dark mage.

It was absurd to find the magic which contradicted her very own to be beautiful.

However, any other dark mage would likely have the same thought.

Even if they were to die facing it, wouldn't they ultimately think it was beautiful?

A golden magic circle emerged beneath her feet, spinning and sending starlight into the sky.

Yes.

The girl's magic seemed to resemble starlight.

It wasn’t of the light or divine type which was despised by the beings with dark mana the most.

It was starlight magic.

Flame slowly closed her eyes, listening to the hymn of stars which seemed to have fallen from the milky way in the sky.

‘... But I've done all I can. I may only endure, but afterward, Eisel will come up with a way to overcome this obstacle as the true protagonist.’

That would do.

If she could just save Hong Bi-Yeon and Eisel right now...

The moment she thought that, suddenly, a golden wave covered the golden rays of light.

It was another golden magic.

"Huh...?"

Anella was startled and squeezed her eyes shut upon seeing the wave of magic, then opened them again as she noticed something strange. She looked around to where the stairs should have been.

There, the stairs were.

A golden staircase which was unnecessarily and extravagantly glamorous, as if decorated for an 'emperor.’

The golden stairs stretched all the way to the top.

"This, this is...!"

"Hurry!"

Anella tried to say something in surprise, but Eisel wasted no time and immediately took action.

Supporting the weary Flame, Eisel quickly began to ascend the stairs and Anella hurriedly followed suit.

Then, she glanced back for a moment.

… Far away.

A golden boy appeared in the darkness which was yet to be purged by Flame but he quickly disappeared into the shadows as if he were an illusion.

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