Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 163 (Part 2)

“That’s not going to be easy. Marquis Rotten is a high-ranking noble of the Kingdom of Maven. You can’t kill him without evidence. And it’s not exactly easy to kill him secretly either, is it? The likelihood that he’s a high-ranking dark magician is very high.”

Rodin believed Marquis Rotten to be a 7th-circle dark magician. Handling such a powerful figure as if assassinating him was naturally difficult.

“So, you’re saying that without evidence, I can’t deal with him publicly.”

“I believe your words, but they’re difficult to use as official evidence. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Destroying a statue could be done without evidence. After all, it was just an object.

But to say unbelievable things like something about souls, and then kill a high-ranking noble like Marquis Rotten—such a thing was not simple.

The Kingdom of Maven would never believe something so far outside the bounds of common sense.

“That’s right. Well then, I guess there’s nothing to do but leave him be.”

“Hmm? Leave him be?”

“I don’t think soul transference is that easy. If it were, all the dark magicians of the past would have already resurrected in the present.”

Soul sealing belonged to the 7th circle of dark magic. It was quite high-level magic, but not so unattainable that it couldn’t be imagined.

Furthermore, a single 7th-circle dark magician could seal other people’s souls as well. If just one 7th-circle dark magician made a move, they could send hundreds or thousands of souls into the future.

However, actual cases of past souls appearing in the future were very rare. The probability of a soul settling into another person’s body was close to zero.

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no such thing as someone else’s body that perfectly matches your soul. Even if left alone, he won’t live long.”

“You’re saying that Marquis Rotten will die soon?”

“Yes. He may live a few more years, but to build a country and enjoy eternal prosperity? That’s nonsense. Of course, if the opportunity arises, killing him would be better. Who knows what he might do during those few years.”

Though he said this, Rodin had already made up his mind to kill Marquis Rotten.

To that end, he was focusing on reading books related to dark magic from the Magic Empire’s archives.

“It would be better to kill him, if possible? In terms of combat, isn’t dark magic generally said to be stronger than white magic? It won’t be easy, will it?”

“That’s probably true.”

The reason dark magic was considered stronger than white magic was because of its power.

When magicians of the same circle fought, the attack spells of dark magic were stronger, and its defensive spells were sturdier.

“Watch for a chance. If you can deal with him quietly, that would be best.”

“Right.”

He had a conversation with the Tower Master of Tamia, but they ended without drawing a conclusion.

In any case, the important thing was the domain war and what came afterward. No one knew how things would change, so any plan made now held little meaning.

*

The next morning, Marquis Richmond and his forces left Count Aramia’s territory. Their numbers were so large that even their simple coming and going drew the attention of many.

“They’ve left.”

“Yes. We are continuing to closely observe Marquis Richmond’s movements.”

In the highest level of an inn, individuals wearing black robes had gathered. Clicking their tongues as they watched the departing procession of the Richmond household.

“Tsk tsk, I heard the Richmond territory had a rough time, and now they’ve brought a bunch of troops. But I’ve heard talk about some ancient soul or something?”

“That story came from the Chronoa Magic Tower. Upon investigation, it seems to be close to the truth.”

“Ancient soul… Ridiculous. They dare try such tricks in the Kingdom of Maven, where we reside?”

Slavon had heard about the ancient soul merely five days ago. Though it sounded absurd, it wasn’t information they could just dismiss.

The message had been delivered directly to the Tower Master, and Tower Master dispatched one of the elders, Ossel.

The order given was to observe the domain war, and if an opportunity arose, to deal with the ancient soul.

Elder Ossel immediately led his subordinate magicians and began his investigation.

Surprisingly, gathering information was easy.

In Marquis Richmond’s territory, there were many people who knew about it. That was because Rodin had revealed the truth in front of a large gathering that included knights, the lord’s castle servants, and maids.

“It seems certain that it’s Marquis Rotten.”

“Really?”

“Yes. His behavior changed drastically about ten years ago. Marquis Rotten was originally a swordsman, but it’s said he hasn’t held a sword since ten years ago. He hasn’t participated in dawn training either. We also investigated others whose dispositions changed suddenly.”

A subordinate magician held out a single sheet of paper.

Elder Ossel skimmed over the paper with his eyes. There wasn’t much content, so he grasped it in one glance.

Once the Tower Master’s order came down, Elder Ossel divided his subordinate magicians in two. One group went to the Richmond territory, and the other to the Rotten territory to gather information.

“Only three?”

“Yes. There were only twelve guardian statues in the Kingdom of Bolas to begin with. Of those, four were in the Richmond territory.”

“So there weren’t many to start with.”

There were guardian statues that had been destroyed in the past, and some that were currently in someone’s possession. Among those, four were in Marquis Richmond’s hands.

Excluding those that had no possibility, only four guardian statues remained.

“At most four, but it’s possible some were destroyed via unknown means.”

“Then we just need to deal with three people for sure.”

Slavon was not a group that controlled the continent from the shadows, but it did have considerable unseen influence. If a specific situation was necessary, they could, to a degree, create such a situation through preparation.

Thus, Slavon did not want the structure of the continent to change.

Keeping things as they were now was ideal, and to that end, variables like ancient souls were better off gone.

“The problem is the pendant’s existence. It’s said that a map was inside it, and perhaps more statues than we thought are hidden somewhere.”

“Who knows the location?”

“Marquis Richmond, Hamilton, and one mercenary magician.”

“Mercenary magician?”

“Yes. A platinum-ranked mercenary named Rodin. He’s 7th-circle, so it’s not easy to approach him.”

At the mention of 7th circle, a name came to Elder Ossel’s mind.

Rodin, who had recently received the platinum badge.

A grand magician who had appeared in the mercenary world for the first time in a long while, and whose name had become famous without doing anything at all.

“7th circle… That’s troublesome.”

“Fortunately, we’ve managed to plant someone inside the Richmond household. When a team is assembled to explore the ruins later, we’ll know right away.”

“That’s a relief. Tsk, we really shouldn’t be cleaning after a Kingdom like Bolas after so long.”

“The domain war is in two days. We plan to move immediately afterward.”

Slavon, among the ancient forces, had little interest outside of the Magic Empire.

They frequently discovered other ruins while searching for the Magic Empire, but rarely ever tried hard to uncover ruins from eras not connected to it.

“The domain war is held at the Kantros Plains, right?”

“Yes.”

“There should be quite large mountains on either side. We’ll set up in one of them and observe the situation. Ah, and since the Chronoa Magic Tower will also come, make sure we confirm their position ahead of time. There’s no point in clashing with them.”

“Understood.”

Hyung_Otaku2

•