Chapter 67

“Should I release it?”

“…….”

At his urging, Sharle bit her lip.

There was no need to look up.

The three spheres absorbing the Magic Tower’s mana were now large enough to cast a shadow at her feet.

‘If Carpe Illusion is released, the family’s mages will surely not be safe.’

Not only them, but even Arles, who was controlling the Magic Tower, could suffer permanent damage.

‘The Lord’s power is on par with my uncles’. It’s best to use this situation as an opportunity.’

“Let’s just go our separate ways.”

“No.”

Having quickly organized her thoughts, Sharle faced Killian.

“I will tell you about the family’s situation.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you would refuse.”

“You must have thought me too foolish, haven't you? Of course, you’ll have to make a promise before that.”

“You must not divulge what I'm about to say to anyone. You must not act in a way that harms Cornelia……. Surely, you’re not about to say something cliché like that, are you?”

“You understand well.”

“L-Lady…….”

Pete, who had been watching, tried to intervene, but he shut his mouth at Sharle’s glance.

“I’ll tell you if you promise. You can accept that much, can’t you?”

“If you’re setting a condition, I have one as well.”

Sharle let out a small sigh.

She felt like she was being drawn into Killian’s way of speaking.

“Is there something you want?”

“Cornelia’s Bigo.”

“……!!”

Sharle’s face, which had been regaining its composure, stiffened.

In response, Killian wore a satisfied smile.

“You look curious as to how I know, don’t you?”

“…….”

“If you let me enter that place, I will accept your condition.”

‘How does Lord Killian know of the Bigo’s existence…….’

Sharle turned her head to look at Pete.

He looked as if he did not understand what Killian was demanding right now.

‘If the Head and my uncles find out…… it won’t just end with them being surprised.’

Cornelia’s Bigo was a secret place where the knowledge of past generations was stored.

Within the family, only the elders and direct blood relatives knew of its existence.

For a lord of Eurasia to mention such a place was one thing, but to say he would enter it himself was another.

It was an unprecedented event.

“How did you know?”

“I heard it from Queen Diana.”

“You continue to tease me.”

Killian answered by shrugging his shoulders.

‘As if he would believe me anyway.’

Diana Cornelia, the queen of Cornelia 200 years ago, was known as the Iron-Blooded Arch Mage.

She had promised to invite Edan and Adamas to the Bigo once the war with the Empire was over.

However, with Edan’s death, the promise could not be kept.

‘Most of it is probably related to magic…… but well, there might be something useful for Eurasia.’

Although Eurasia had made great strides during Simon’s era, there were still many areas where it was lacking.

Cornelia’s Magic Tower and Bigo.

‘If it’s helpful, I have to use it somehow.’

“You have a talent for surprising people, my lord.”

“I’m glad if that’s the case.”

“I am not joking.”

“Neither am I.”

“…….”

“…….”

A moment of silence flowed.

“Haa.”

Sharle heaved a deep sigh. She knew she had no other choice.

“The Lord’s proposal is a matter that only the Head can decide. I cannot guarantee it for you.”

“Then I suppose we’ll have to change the condition to the Lady persuading the Head to the best of her ability?”

A hollow laugh escaped her at the sight of him changing the condition so casually.

“I will accept that. However, it’s impossible right now. I’m sure the Lord has already noticed, right?”

“Yes.”

He could guess from the situation.

A space engraved with a multi-warp formula called the ‘Hut’.

A laboratory for 8-star magic and the Head who had reached the 8th star.

And the Magic Tower’s rampage.

“The Head of your family went berserk while using 8-star magic, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

Sharle readily affirmed.

The Head, Hegel Cornelia, had entered seclusion using the power of the Magic Tower to reach the 8th star.

And in that process, he was periodically going berserk.

“It has gotten worse recently. Even Uncle Kiel, who went in to see the Head, was injured and had to focus on recovery for a year.”

Since then, the two Superhumans of the family had not been involved in the Head’s training, just in case.

‘So this was the reason Cornelia had been acting so passively for several years.’

They could not make a Declaration of the Kingdom while the Head’s condition was unstable.

“So, if I want to enter the Bigo, are you asking me to help with the Head’s seclusion training?”

“I have no intention of asking for something even my uncles couldn't do. I just think that with the current Carpe Illusion, you might be able to lighten my uncles' burden a little.”

“Dealing with a Superhuman requires hazard pay.”

“Really…… You never tire of negotiating, do you? Is there something else you want?”

Killian paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“…….”

Sharle’s fine brow furrowed.

But if she had decided to borrow his power, it was better to do it properly.

“I accept the condition. How long do we need to control the Magic Tower’s mana? If we don’t handle it quickly, the mages connected to the laboratory won’t be able to endure…….”

Snap.

Killian snapped his fingers.

Kwwaaaaa.

One of the three spheres absorbed the two spheres on either side of it.

Subsequently, as Killian gestured nonchalantly, the unified sphere of mana began to compress.

Drrrrr.

The space vibrated.

If this place hadn't been Carpe Illusion, the surrounding space would have collapsed.

Killian floated the sphere, now the size of a fist—a mana ball—in front of Sharle’s eyes.

“Use this to reorganize the collapsing formula.”

At some point, Carpe Illusion had vanished, and the deployed Sword Membrane was blocking the mana flowing in from the gate.

He was crossing between phenomenon and illusion.

It was a feat that not even an Arch Mage could easily perform.

Sharle wore a complicated expression at his mana control, which moved between Ke and Shik.

“I’m getting used to that expression now.”

“…….”

“Let’s quickly sort this out and go meet the Head.”

Killian said as he strengthened the Sword Membrane.

He would have to prevent the Magic Tower’s mana from leaking in until Sharle finished reorganizing the Hut.

“I’ll begin.”

She activated the magic circle to stabilize the Hut.

The mana from the mana ball melted into the magic circle.

‘Perhaps my choice will determine the life and death of the family.’

A strange smile formed on the lips of Sharle, her violet mana shimmering.

***

“Did he go berserk again?”

Celot Cornelia, who received the report from his younger brother, sighed.

He felt like he had aged 10 years since taking on the role of Acting Head.

“Laboratories 1 through 8 were all caught in the reflux. It was dangerous this time.”

Kiel vividly recounted the harrowing moment when over a hundred of the family’s mages had been on the verge of being incapacitated.

“Umm……”

Celot swallowed a groan.

The scale of the Head’s rampages was gradually increasing.

‘Should I stop the Head’s seclusion even now?’

The Head was currently testing 8-star magic on the ‘Floor of Training,’ located in the basement of the Magic Tower.

It was based on the judgment that if he could control 8-star magic, he would naturally ascend to the 8th star.

That thought proved correct, and the Head had now grown to the level of an incomplete 8th star.

A year at the earliest.

The Head might succeed in stabilizing the 8th star.

However.

‘I must stop him here.’

Celot’s reason was telling him that he had to stop the Head’s seclusion.

It had been three years since the training began.

He had voiced his opinion to the Head several times during that period, but the Head had not bent and was continuing his seclusion.

For Cornelia’s Declaration of the Kingdom, and to keep the 8-star Superhumans in the Empire in check, he had to ascend to the 8th star.

The problem was that he periodically fell into a berserk state in the process.

The Head’s rampage, connected to the Magic Tower, was causing a huge ripple effect, enough to shake the entire family.

“Are Arles and Sharle safe?”

Arles was managing the Magic Tower, and Sharle was managing the laboratories connected to it. Besides them, the family’s blood relatives and elders were pouring their efforts into the Head’s training.

“They are still having trouble controlling the Magic Tower. The Hut was almost overturned by the aftermath… but it seems Sharle managed to handle it well.”

“Those children are holding up better than expected.”

Among the blood relatives, Arles and Sharle had inherited a strong strain of Cornelia blood.

Arles showed great talent in combat magic like his uncles, while Sharle excelled in creation magic.

Twenty years at most.

Arles and Sharle would surely reach the 7th star, and then Cornelia would possess five Superhumans.

‘When that time comes, Cornelia will once again enjoy a golden age.’

Of course, before that, it was urgent for the Head to safely finish his seclusion.

“At this rate, Eurasia will notice.”

“It wouldn’t be strange to say they already have. Since Simon has stabilized his 8th star.”

“…….”

“…….”

Celot and Kiel fell silent.

It was because they were once again reminded of what a monster Simon Eurasia was.

Hegel Cornelia of the western frontier and Simon Eurasia of the eastern frontier.

They were called geniuses from birth and had grown for a long time, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind.

But unlike Hegel, who received help from the Bigo and the Magic Tower, Simon Eurasia had overcome the wall and reached the 8th star all on his own from the beginning.

‘Not only that, but he stabilized the 8th star in less than a year.’

Even from Celot’s perspective, who had reached the same rank of Superhuman, he was a man for whom the description of monster was not an understatement.

“Kiel, we must stabilize the kingdom while the two Heads are still sound. Now is the opportune time for the Declaration of the Kingdom.”

“But… Brother Hegel’s will to achieve the 8th star is so strong.”

Recalling the previous battle, Kiel clutched his throbbing shoulder.

“If I try to stop him rashly, I might not make it out alive this time.”

The Head was connected to the Magic Tower and wielded 8-star magic.

Even for Celot, a 7-star master, there was no guarantee he could survive.

Just then, a guard’s voice was heard from outside.

“Commander of the Magic Order, Lady Sharle has arrived.”

A moment after Celot’s permission, Sharle entered.

“Uncle Kiel happens to be here as well.”

Sharle bowed to Celot and Kiel.

For someone who had almost died just a moment ago, she was overly composed.

“I heard the Hut was about to be overturned.”

“Are you alright?”

The two Superhumans worried about their niece’s health.

They thought she was deliberately trying to look bright for their sake.

“It was dangerous. I almost died, really. Are the Head and brother Arles alright?”

“The Magic Tower is still being dealt with. It seems the Head fell into Oblivio a short while ago.”

“Oblivio……”

Oblivio referred to the state of unconsciousness that occurs just before going berserk.

A comatose state where he could either go on a rampage or nothing could happen at all.

“If a rampage of this level happens one more time……”

“Then an irreversible sacrifice will occur.”

The Head had already reached his limit.

Sharle bit her lip at the state that could be, in a way, more dangerous than a rampage.

“This time, I plan to go in and stop the Head myself.”

“Brother! This is not something to be decided so easily!”

Kiel shouted in a surprised voice.

Hegel, Celot, and Kiel.

The three of them were the pillars supporting Cornelia.

If it was a matter where any one of them could be in danger, it needed to be decided with more deliberation.

“Didn’t I tell you? If we delay, we might not get another chance.”

“But……”

“The Head is in a state no different from an incomplete 8th star anyway. This should be enough to meet the requirements for the Declaration of the Kingdom.”

“You won’t be able to handle the Head’s rampage alone, brother.”

“I’ll have to prepare thoroughly.”

“…….”

At his firm attitude, Kiel closed his mouth.

He knew he could not overturn Celot’s decision, which was already made.

It was Sharle who broke the silence.

“This works out well. I’ve brought a guest who can lend you his strength, uncle.”

“A guest?”

“To help my brother?”

“Please come in, my lord.”

At Sharle’s voice, the door opened and a knight entered, and a look of surprise appeared on Celot’s and Kiel’s faces.

Sharle met Killian’s eyes.

“Eurasia’s new Annihilation Squad Leader, and,”

As if responding to her refreshing voice, a smile formed on Killian’s lips.

“Eurasia’s fourth Superhuman, Sir Killian.”

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