Within the academy grounds, the noon sun was bright and the wind gentle. Students in the plaza whispered among themselves, while the distant training ground carried the faint sounds of magic being released. Everything was as calm as usual.
No one knew that just a street away from the academy, a magic powerful enough to destroy an entire block had descended.
An invisible barrier had silently spread, completely isolating Harvey and the others on that street from the outside world.
Inside the academy, all remained calm.
Lavia, who was organizing magical materials, suddenly stopped moving. She lifted her head and looked out the window. A strange, indescribable unease rose from the bottom of her heart. Frowning, she glanced at her palm, her fingers unconsciously tightening.
The slave mark on the back of Harvey’s hand was sending her a burning signal.
As if—
SOS.
Lavia’s expression drastically changed. She turned to leave the laboratory.
“Wait a moment.”
A gentle voice sounded behind her. Her footsteps halted instantly. When she turned around, Mei Li was already standing there, her staff in hand, still wearing that warm, kind smile.
“Where are you going without reporting to me?”
Lavia stared at her instructor. “…You. What did you do?”
Mei Li did not answer. She simply looked at her quietly. That warmth sent a chill down Lavia’s spine.
*
“Harvey…?”
Veronica watched the young man standing ahead, watching the black mist constantly pouring out from him. He was no longer the servant she knew, but a terrifying existence.
The thick black mist continued to spread, surging along the ground, climbing up the buildings on both sides. The walls began to crumble upon contact, and the entire structure rapidly collapsed.
Harvey’s vision was blurry, and he was barely conscious. He had no idea what he was doing; he only felt cold.
The voice in his ears grew clearer.
‘Just a little more.’
‘Give everything to me.’
Hera’s seductive voice echoed deep in his mind.
‘Don’t you want to protect her?’
‘Then why not go all the way?’
Protect? Who did he want to protect? Harvey thought blankly, many blurred faces surfacing in his mind. Before he could figure it out, his left hand unconsciously tightened.
The black mist surged out like an uncontrollable flood.
The distant white-robed figures’ expressions changed drastically.
“Fall back! Fall back now!”
The leader shouted harshly. But the black mist was far faster than their reactions. Someone couldn’t even scream before being engulfed. His body visibly turned to ash, disintegrating into dust.
Fear exploded at that moment.
“Ahhh! Demon! Let me go!!—”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
The white robes used wind magic to flee in panic, but before they could fly far, they crashed into the invisible barrier, bleeding and broken.
“Remove the barrier! Quick!”
“Don’t come near! Don’t—!”
On the other side, the two maids’ faces were pale. They noticed the black mist was closing in, about to surround them.
“Your Highness, fall back!”
But Veronica only stared at the figure nearly swallowed by the black mist. She trembled all over, yet she took a step toward him. Her foot stepped into the mist, and the hem of her dress was immediately eroded.
“That’s enough… Stop. It’s over.”
The black mist did not obey Veronica’s command; instead, it coiled around her dress. But the moment it touched her, it curled back.
‘They are all people who deserve to die. You don’t need to have mercy anymore.’
Hera’s voice whispered in Harvey’s mind, tempting him to sink further. Only by absorbing the souls and lives of others could his individual power grow.
‘Absorb their lives, and you will be one step closer to your dream.’
Harvey blankly watched the white robes who had fallen into the black mist and could no longer scream. An intense life force surged toward him through the mist, and every cell in his body cried out in pleasure.
He needed more, still more—
“Enough!”
Veronica had somehow come to his side. Ignoring the lethal black mist, she grabbed Harvey’s wrist.
“I command you—stop! Harvey!”
The skin stung sharply, but she gritted her teeth and called out to him. She knew nothing about him except this name.
The black mist suddenly halted briefly. A flicker of clarity passed through Harvey’s eyes.
Someone was commanding him? Should he stop? Should he?
‘…Tch.’
Hera made a displeased sound.
‘Human emotions.’
‘What a nuisance.’
The next instant, all the spreading black mist surged back into Harvey’s body.
Harvey’s body shook violently. The power that had been supporting him vanished instantly. He fell forward, his consciousness sinking into darkness.
Veronica instinctively reached out and caught him. The impact staggered her, but she held him tightly. She looked at Harvey’s face in her arms, pale as death, as if he might disappear at any moment.
Only when someone actually fell before her did Veronica realize how scared she was. Her hands trembled uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry.”
This time, the two maids heard clearly.
“…I’m sorry.”
The black mist dispersed, leaving the street in a dead silence.
The remaining two white robes had no will to fight. The plan had failed. Even from the start, they had walked into someone else’s trap. They hadn’t even known that the magic circle meant to shield spell fluctuations had been hijacked.
The oppressive pressure from the black mist had not yet faded, and the fear of facing death itself still surged in their chests.
“Go!”
The leader barked. The two of them channeled their remaining magic, trying to tear open the barrier that was not yet fully closed. If they could just escape, they might survive.
But just as they were about to break free, a hunched figure slowly walked out.
The old man wore a simple gray robe, and his staff was embedded with a cyan crystal.
Both of them froze.
The old man looked at them with a gentle smile.
“Guests from afar. Since you have already arrived, why be in such a hurry to leave?”
He raised his staff. “At least let us fulfill our duty as hosts.”
The air suddenly grew heavy.
“Get lost!”
The other white robe, unable to suppress his fear, almost screamed. The leader’s expression shifted drastically as he reached out to stop him.
“Wait! He is—!”
But it was too late. After a short incantation, five flaming fireballs condensed in an instant. The scorching fireballs, hot enough to distort the air, slammed toward the gray-robed figure!
The firelight illuminated the old man’s aged face for a moment.
However, Wien simply watched the incoming flames and shook his head helplessly.
“That’s not how his students should act.”
“Tap.”
The staff hit the ground with a soft sound.
The next instant—
“Ahhhhhh—!!!”
The white robe who had attacked was suddenly engulfed in violent flames. The change was too fast. The blazing fire seemed to ignite from inside his body. He didn’t even have time to scream a second time before he was burnt to a handful of ashes.
The fire flashed and vanished. The air returned to calm, as if nothing had happened. Only the slowly falling ashes remained.
The leader of the white robes stood frozen, all color drained from his face. The heat from that moment still seemed to burn in his pupils.
He opened his mouth.
“Al… Master Alvin…”
The remaining leader forced down his trembling heart and smiled bitterly. “I never thought… in my lifetime… I would have the honor of standing before you.”
As he spoke, the leader’s eyes relaxed.
Wien looked at him. In his aged eyes was only a weary calm.
“Why bother,” he said softly.
The white-robed man stood there, then suddenly went limp. He fell straight to his knees, and his breath had already ceased.
Wien looked at the corpse, his eyes full of helplessness. He hadn’t expected the man to be so decisive—not only recognizing him at a glance, but also biting the poison capsule in his mouth.
A High Magician revered across the continent had ended up dying incognito in a foreign land, like a weed.
Before Wien could finish his sigh, a pained cry for help came from the nearby street.
Wien was somewhat surprised and looked over.
That spoiled little princess was now holding the boy, her expression desperate.
“Luo Lan! Save him! Quickly!”
“He can’t die!”
The boy’s heartbeat was fading away.