Chapter 13.5
An emergency meeting was held at the royal palace of Mage Kingdom Medena.
The seven elders, who were the backbone of Medena, attended along with the King and Crown Prince.
“We received a letter from the Empire. The evil dragon Aktus is heading for our country.”
At Crown Prince Ashed’s words, the elders widened their eyes.
“Is that true? What if the Empire is trying to deceive us?”
Medena was a closed country with no exchanges with other nations. As a result, their pride in magic was immense, and they were very arrogant.
The mages of Medena considered themselves true beings beyond humanity. But Crown Prince Ashed thought differently.
He believed they should open the gates and interact with others, even now. But the elders remained stubborn.
“There’s no reason for the Empire to lie to us.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“We must not be complacent. I believe we need countermeasures.”
“What are you worried about? Our Mage Kingdom has a long history. We can easily subjugate a dragon with our magic.”
“Your Majesty, you worry too much.”
“Let us show you. The power of our seven elders and the greatness of the Mage Kingdom.”
“There’s no need for you two to worry at all.”
In the end, the meeting ended with the elders boasting.
When the elders left, only the King and Ashed remained in the chamber.
“Ashed, what do you think? Can we really deal with the evil dragon?”
“I understand why the elders boast. We have the Magi-Armor Corps.”
Magi-Armor Corps.
The pride of Mage Kingdom Medena, a masterpiece born of magical research.
The seven elders said that once this was revealed to the world, everyone would know the greatness of the Mage Kingdom.
“So, in the end, we’re relying on the Magi-Armor Corps. But it’s strange. Why did the evil dragon change direction from the Imperial capital to the Mage Kingdom?”
“I suspect that as well.”
They could not understand why the evil dragon suddenly targeted the Mage Kingdom.
* * *
In a safe house within the Mage Kingdom.
Edgar paced the room with an anxious face.
Several days had passed since he entered the safe house.
The days were peaceful.
The knights of the Polaris Order took care of his meals, and the magically crafted bathroom made bathing convenient.
Whenever Rev activated his magic, the bathtub would fill with water, and wooden dolls would come to life to help him bathe.
According to Rev, the Mage Kingdom had advanced daily-life magic, so it was rare to hire maids or servants.
“But why do I feel so stifled?”
It wasn’t as if he was trapped in a prison.
He could walk around the house and even go outside as much as he wanted.
For safety, he could only roam the nearby area, but it wasn’t such a restrictive life.
Yet, he couldn’t understand why he felt so suffocated and uneasy.
Edgar did not yet know this was due to the misfortune soon to come.
* * *
Cutting across the sea, the evil dragon Aktus headed for the Mage Kingdom. In the distance, a small island came into view.
Never before had a human provoked him like this. He didn’t know why, but he felt compelled to catch that human immediately.
Perhaps that was why Aktus’s rage soared to the heavens.
Finally, the island appeared.
Evil dragon Aktus opened his massive jaws wide and unleashed his breath toward the island.
His breath, as hot as lava, blasted toward the Mage Kingdom. But an astonishing thing happened.
Aktus’s breath was blocked by a transparent barrier surrounding the island, causing no damage.
Aktus narrowed his eyes.
He sensed a thick concentration of magical power from the small island.
Then, magic shot out from behind the barrier toward Aktus. It was fire magic.
Aktus, with a scornful look, flapped his wings and deflected the magic.
The spells vanished before Aktus.
He sent a powerful fire spell toward the transparent barrier. A chunk of molten lava exploded against the shield.
A sizzling sound rang out.
Even so, the barrier remained firm, and the magical attacks continued.
The magicians attacking from atop the fortress walls were relentless.
The King and Ashed watched all this from inside the royal palace through a magic mirror. The magic mirror was a device set up to observe the situation outside the kingdom.
From the sky, Aktus deflected all the spells raining down on him and attacked the barrier with even stronger magic and breath.
“If this goes on, the barrier will be destroyed, Father.”
Ashed spoke with a worried face, and a shadow fell over the King’s face.
“Tell the seven elders to join the battle.”
“Yes, Father.”
Ashed relayed the King’s words to the seven elders via magical communication. However, their attitude was rather arrogant.
[Is it necessary for all of us to go out? Three should be enough.]
[Do you really think three will suffice?]
[We’ve lived long enough for that to be plenty.]
[Understood. I’ll relay that to His Majesty.]
Ashed finished the communication with a bitter smile and returned to the King.
“Father, the elders have decided only three will go.”
“Three?”
“Yes, they insist three will be enough.”
“Haa.”
The King sighed.
“How arrogant. They’ll have to answer for those words.”
“Yes, Father.”
The King and Ashed looked back at the magic mirror.
They saw magicians collapsing from magical exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Aktus’s attack showed no sign of stopping.
Then, like heroes, three magicians in red robes appeared.
“Wicked dragon, we shall punish you with holy magic.”
The three magicians joined forces and cast a spell. An enormous amount of magical power burst from their bodies.
Aktus sensed the seriousness of their power.
Dark clouds gathered around Aktus in the sky.
Soon—
A powerful bolt of lightning struck Aktus.
Kwarurururung!
A thunderous roar shook the sky.
Lightning struck Aktus repeatedly.
The three elders believed their spell had reduced Aktus to ashes.
“Hmph, it was nothing.”
“Indeed.”
“Did we overdo it? There might not even be a corpse left.”
They exchanged sly smiles.
At that moment—
A chill ran down their spines.
Dark clouds gathered above their heads, and the same spell fell upon them.
The three turned their heads at once.
Yellow eyes glared at them with a terrifying gaze.
“W-what…”
“This can’t be…”
“…!”
The three hastily cast shields and tried to teleport away with blink magic.
Kwarung! Kwarurururung!
But the widespread lightning magic exploded, instantly turning the three elders to ash.
Even with blink magic, they could not escape Aktus’s spell.
It was a meaningless death for elders who had lived so long. Even magicians, as humans, could not escape a dragon’s magic.
Aktus, his jaws gaping like a demon, unleashed a powerful breath at the barrier.
Cracks formed in the barrier, and with a crash, it shattered.
The King looked urgently at Ashed.
“Evacuate the people to the underground shelter, quickly!”
“Yes, Father.”
Ashed rushed out, sounded the emergency bell, and told the people to flee to the underground shelter.
Knights and magicians moved swiftly, opening the shelter, and people poured inside.
The elders, watching the situation with the King through the magic mirror, were startled when their colleagues were wiped out in an instant.
“H-how could this happen?”
“We must escape.”
“Escape?”
“Or do you want to die for nothing?”
“We must fight.”
“Three are dead. Do you think the four of us can manage?”
“Deploy the Magi-Armor Corps. We shouldn’t have gone out ourselves.”
“Good idea.”
But—
“It seems the Magi-Armor Corps is already deployed. The King must have given the order.”
“The King gave orders without our permission?”
The Magi-Armor Corps was an army the King and elders had painstakingly built.
But the King had issued orders alone.
It was a breach of protocol, ignoring them.
They thought they had to confront the King about this.
When the evil dragon attacked the Mage Kingdom, the Empire and other nations were shocked.
Why did the dragon head for the Mage Kingdom?
It was natural to be curious.
In response, Hildeltrud spread a rumor.
The rumor was that Edgar, who had attacked the dragon, fled to the Mage Kingdom.
It became such a hot topic that it was discussed at all sorts of social gatherings in the Empire.
“I heard the First Prince is in the Mage Kingdom.”
“Did he fail the subjugation and flee?”
“What are you talking about? His Highness is at the Polaris Order’s training grounds.”
“He’s at the Polaris Order’s training grounds?”
“Yes, Her Majesty the Empress said so. My aunt is part of the tea gathering hosted by Her Majesty, and she said so there.”
No one knew whose words were true.
The rumor even reached the Imperial Family.
The Emperor’s anger was understandable.
Visiting Rosemary Palace for the first time in a while, the Emperor met privately with Empress Isabel.
“Where is Edgar?”
“The prince is being protected by the Polaris Order.”
“Are you certain?”
“Of course.”
“Then what about the rumor that Edgar is in the Mage Kingdom?”
“That’s nonsense. Surely you don’t believe such rumors over my word? I’m disappointed, Your Majesty.”
“Is he truly at the training grounds? Should I not check for myself?”
“I told you he is.”
“Your words must be certain. Otherwise, you won’t escape punishment.”
After making his threat, the Emperor left Rosemary Palace without looking back.
After he left, Empress Isabel collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.
“I’m tired, Siena. Bring me some tea.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
When maid Siena brought tea, Empress Isabel drank to calm her mind and body.
Then she instructed the Head Maid.
“Contact Marquis Herland and check on Edgar.”
The evil dragon burned Marquis Herland’s estate.
And as Marquis Herland’s son Brian was escorting Edgar back to the capital, the Polaris Order took Edgar away to safety.
Receiving reports frequently, Empress Isabel felt relieved.
She had no idea all the reports she received were manipulated by Silver Moon.
Silver Moon intercepted all correspondence between Empress Isabel and Marquis Herland, cleverly swapping the letters, so Empress Isabel was receiving false reports.
Marquis Herland was also completely unaware.
Unaware their letters had been swapped, both were foolishly exchanging false information and feeling reassured.
Edgar, who had taken refuge in the Mage Kingdom.
Because he drew in the evil dragon, the Mage Kingdom was attacked. If it was revealed that Edgar was the cause, he would not escape responsibility.
The evil dragon would destroy all of the Mage Kingdom’s core force, the Magi-Armor Corps.
In her study, Hildeltrud was playing chess, picking up the black knight and knocking down the white rook before her eyes.
The toppled rook looked like the fortress of the Mage Kingdom collapsing.
In reality, part of the Mage Kingdom’s fortress was being destroyed by Aktus’s breath.
Hildeltrud gazed at the fallen white rook with an ecstatic face.
“Collapse, collapse and destroy everything.”
Her words flowed out like a curse.
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