A Talentless Mage Devours a Disaster-Class Future - Chapter 62
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 62
The Grand Atrium—Excion’s vast central hall.
Now that the Mana Storm had snuffed out every light in the academy, countless students and faculty had evacuated to the central hall, where they relied on the faint blue glow radiating from luminous stones and candles lit throughout the chamber.
Beneath that dim, flickering light, sharp words exchanged between Excion’s leadership cut through the air.
“We must send defensive reinforcements to the Erebos Vault at once! We cannot simply sit idle like this!”
Professor Helsen, who oversaw Basic Magic Circle Design, shouted with his face flushed crimson.
“If those vicious criminals steal the relics sealed in the vault, can you even imagine what catastrophe will befall the continent!?”
But the professors standing on the opposite side held their ground just as firmly.
“Calm yourself, Professor Helsen! Director Alister made clear only moments ago that student safety must be our absolute priority! If we withdraw more defenders from here, we risk collapsing the very defensive line of this sanctuary!”
Professor Ronan, who taught Basic Theory, raised his voice in rebuttal with a cautious, defensive stance.
Within the mounting tension between the two factions, Vice-Commander Valter of the Guardian Knights, clad in blood-stained armor, opened his mouth with a grim expression.
“Unfortunately, we currently lack the capacity to redirect forces toward the vault.”
His weighty words drew every professor’s gaze.
“The enemy is thoroughly prepared to execute their infiltration flawlessly even without mana. Meanwhile, most of our Guardian Knights are blessed with natural mana affinity, which means our dependence on mana has become dangerously distorted.”
Vice-Commander Valter laid bare the painful reality.
“Without the Mana Storm, a single Guardian Knight could easily handle five enemies, but in this current state of mana vacuum, we’re barely managing to hold and defend this refuge.”
At that desperate report, Professor Bel, who taught biology and had been quietly observing from the side, asked urgently.
“Are we certain the enemy’s target is specifically the Erebos relics? Is this not simply an attempt to throw the academy into chaos?”
Then Professor Helsen, who had been the first to call for reinforcements, raised his voice as if the question were absurd.
“Can’t you see?! While we huddle together like turtles, holding our breath in one spot, those villains are completely ransacking the Erebos Vault!!”
From the darkness, Iris, a student council officer, watched this desperate argument unfold, her gaze turning cold and sharp.
“…What a dire situation.”
Even the faculty could find no adequate solution, and their division was already spreading an anxious atmosphere throughout the entire refuge.
“Ugh… I’m so scared….”
“Are we really going to die if things go on like this…?”
Anxiety spread among the students like a contagion.
The sound of rain and wind lashing madly outside the windows only fed that fear.
At that moment, Marcel approached Iris and whispered low.
“Tsk… The atmosphere is truly terrible. The continent’s greatest magical academy, Excion, helplessly suffering like this.”
“…You’re right. I never imagined it possible.”
It only underscored how thoroughly the enemy had prepared.
“First, we need to calm down any students who are panicking badly. In times like this, the student council has to do its part.”
Iris nodded gravely at Marcel’s words.
“You’re right. Let’s gather the younger students toward the center of the line and triage the wounded. Then I’ll give orders to the student council….”
Just as Iris was about to issue her instructions calmly—
“……But.”
Marcel tilted his head suddenly, glancing around.
“Where’s Leonhardt? Wasn’t he with you just now?”
Iris’s large eyes widened further at the question.
“What? I’ve been with the professors this whole time. I wasn’t with you?”
“What? I naturally thought you’d been together the whole time.”
“…….”
“…Wait?”
A brief, breathless silence fell between them.
Iris and Marcel’s eyes met in the empty air.
Through both their minds flashed the face of that mad student council president who always claimed to be Excion’s true guardian, who threw himself into danger first and laughed about it.
“Don’t tell me…….”
“The fact that Leonhardt made a name for himself in Swordsmanship before even enrolling at Excion…… surely that has nothing to do with this situation?”
“…It shouldn’t, but—”
Smack!
Smack!
Iris and Marcel pressed their palms to their foreheads at the same moment, as if by prior agreement.
“This is driving me insane, seriously…….”
***
“……Bark?”
At Aion’s call, a massive black dog, soaked through with rain, stumbled forward and collapsed into his arms.
“Whimper…….”
The beast heaved roughly, whining in pain. Having charged at full speed through the violent downpour, Bark’s body temperature had dropped dangerously cold, and he trembled all over.
“What about Raven? What happened to the Raven inspector?”
But Bark could not answer. The beast spat out the wet packet he’d been clenching in his jaws into Aion’s hand, then turned his head to gaze once more into the pitch-black darkness from which he’d come.
“Huff… huff….”
Without looking back again, he staggered forward into the fierce rain and was gone.
“…….”
Aion watched the figure’s blurred silhouette disappearing into the rain and wind, then tore open the envelope in his hand with urgent haste.
Inside lay a single crumpled sheet of parchment.
Patter, patter.
The heavy downpour soaked the parchment at once, smudging the ink across its surface.
Aion’s eyes raced over the text, determined not to lose a single word to the spreading moisture.
What caught his attention first was a postscript added hastily at the bottom, the ink still wet, written in a hurried scrawl.
[Secondary fire. Additional Flame Rune influx.]
“……!”
Aion took in the full content.
Yet his feet remained frozen in place, refusing to move.
“……Secondary fire?”
【Hwayeom: Secondary fire, you say!?】
【Daeji: That’s impossible! That’s impossible! On the day Irghas’s trio targeted Erebos, there was no fire incident! It contradicts everything I remember! Nothing was supposed to have changed, and yet……!】
【Mado: No. A great many things have already changed.】
【Daeji: What do you mean?】
Mado’s cold observation cut through the chaos.
Aion stood alone, his jaw clenched tight, and began fitting the scattered pieces together in his mind like a puzzle.
‘The faction behind the large-scale raid targeting the relics in Erebos’s vault—Irghas’s trio. And then….’
— I don’t know the details myself, but someone came looking for Captain Wolfe not long ago. I don’t know who! They were wearing a robe.
The testimony of the informant they’d captured at the mountain lodge.
What if this incident was never about targeting only the relics stored in Erebos’s vault?
‘Damn it… time….’
Irghas’s trio had already breached Erebos’s vault.
Naturally, he had to stop them and prevent the theft of the relics.
But of all times, Raven’s letter had to arrive now.
…Why? Why would Raven send a letter at this exact moment? He had to know about the raid incident, didn’t he?
Whoosh—!
In that instant, Aion’s body went rigid.
His gaze swept past the vault toward the massive silhouette of Excion as the storm raged above it.
Aion mapped out the entire situation at Excion in his mind.
Immediately after the large-scale aerial raid had begun, the students within the academy would undoubtedly have been thrown into extreme peril.
‘Yet on the other hand….’
The defensive forces guarding Erebos’s vault were abnormally thin.
What if Excion’s leadership had prioritized student protection above all else?
‘…They would’ve gathered everyone in one place. It’s the absolute advantage for defense.’
Aion’s eyes wavered.
‘…Master.’
He called out urgently to Hwayeom’s Extreme Point. Hwayeom too was caught in panic.
【Hwayeom: N-no, this can’t be… Then the Lumenia Dormitory fire as well… was that their doing?】
‘Answer me, Master. What’s happening now?’
【Hwayeom: That’s… that can’t be. It doesn’t make sense.】
‘…Get ahold of yourself and answer!’
Hwayeom began speaking in a trembling voice at Aion’s sharp command.
【Hwayeom: If the dormitory fire was the work of those I know… there’s only one purpose. They want to burn mages.】
What came through was an unexpected truth.
‘…What? Burn mages? Why?’
【Hwayeom: To observe the combustion phenomenon of mana. I can’t say the details, but… if my suspicion is correct, their target has become the students of Excion.】
The scattered fragments began to connect into one picture.
“Then that means….”
【Hwayeom: Yes… that’s right, the dormitory fire was their doing. In the world I came from, no fire incident ever happened at Excion afterward. And you know why?】
Hwayeom’s fractured voice poured out.
【Hwayeom: Because there were already seventeen casualties by then.】
A brutal incident from the past, already mentioned once before.
Seventeen people had died in the Hazel Dorm dormitory fire at Lumenia in the world where Hwayeom’s Extreme Point dwelt.
They would have finished their observation by then.
Through watching seventeen young mages burn and vanish in flames.
But in this world, in Aion’s present….
‘…No one had died.’
Yes, those who should have died were still alive.
Because Aion had torn open the Small Auditorium’s doors and saved them all.
…So those ones would….
‘…never be satisfied.’
With the Mana Storm as cover for their aerial assault, there was a strong likelihood that Excion’s students were now gathered in one place.
If Aion’s dark premonition held true, they would certainly target that location.
【Daeji: Listen, listen! If you don’t stop Wolfe right now, do you have any idea what kind of horrors will unfold in the future!? You have to get into the Erebos Archive this instant!】
【Hwayeom: That’s exactly what I’m saying!! If all the students of Excion burn to ash, what good is any future, no matter what it holds!?】
【Daeji: Choose, Aion! Choose the future of the continent!】
【Hwayeom: No, the fire must be stopped! We can’t let Excion be reduced to cinders at their behest!】
As the two arch-mages’ screams tore through his mind, a searing red system window flashed before Aion’s eyes.
Ding-!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[!] A new task has been assigned.
[!] You stand at the Crossroads of Fate.
[!] All your choices and their consequences at the Crossroads of Fate will be reflected in the rewards.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
『Task: Destiny — Artifact and Conflagration』
― 『Task Overview: The terrible artifacts sealed in the Erebos Archive face imminent theft, while the students of Excion face the threat of a second great fire. Both crises have arrived at once. Whichever way you turn, you must choose.』
― 『Objective: Either breach the Erebos Archive and stop Wolfe and his conspirators, or prevent the great fire that will break out elsewhere.』
― 『Designated Reward: To be determined at settlement.』
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A moment of choice.
Aion agonized in the rain.
Whoooosh…
Whatever he decided, he would be left with painful regret.
If he left this place, Wolfe would steal the cursed artifact and escape. If he stayed, countless students might burn to death in the worst case.
Choose.
Choose now.
He was being forced into a cruel decision.
It was at the very moment Aion gripped the hilt of his longsword as if to break it.
Step.
Through the sound of the rain, a faint presence stirred behind him.
“I never thought I’d see you here… truly, I didn’t.”
Aion turned at the voice.
“Life is such an uncertain thing, isn’t it? Don’t you think, Aion?”
“…Leonhardt?”
There stood Leonhardt Kael, his uniform torn and stained with blood, brushing back his silver hair.
Aion’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing here? Didn’t you hear the order to evacuate to the Grand Atrium?”
Leonhardt gave a faint laugh, his gaze sweeping over Aion from head to toe.
“Well… judging by your current state, it doesn’t seem like you heard that order either.”
“…….”
Leonhardt’s eyes lingered on Aion’s rigid expression and the blood-soaked longsword in his grip.
“What… is it?”
“It’s… a problem.”
Aion hesitated. Should he speak, or bear this alone?
While he wavered, Leonhardt walked up and placed a heavy hand on Aion’s shoulder.
Thud—
“You were like this during the Bosco mock evaluation too, Aion. You always try to handle everything yourself.”
“…….”
“Trust me. I promise it will help.”
Leonhardt’s gaze burned steadfast even through the rain and wind.
“No one is perfect. That’s why we have each other.”
Hearing those words, Aion made his decision.
“Intruders have already breached the vault. They’re definitely after the relics….”
“That’s enough.”
Leonhardt cut him off, giving his shoulder a light push.
“You have something urgent to attend to, don’t you?”
“How did you…?”
“Otherwise you wouldn’t have left the door open and stopped here like this.”
Leonhardt looked at the headless corpse sprawled before them and shrugged.
…Nod.
The hesitation vanished from Aion’s eyes.
Leonhardt grinned and jerked his chin toward the shattered door of Erebos.
“Go. Leave this to me.”
That single word, spoken with absolute conviction.
“…I will repay this debt.”
“There’s no debt between us.”
Shing—
Leonhardt Kale drew the magnificent blade hanging at his waist.
After witnessing that, Aion turned without a moment’s hesitation.
Rumble-crack—!
He tore through the pitch-black tempest and began running like a madman toward the Grand Atrium of Excion.
Splash—!
Plunge!
His shoes stamped through puddles, spattering blood into the air.
Bodies lay scattered across the grounds. It was an alien scene—and yet oddly familiar to Aion.
“Haah… haah…”
As Aion sprinted forward, his lungs burning, the beginning of the letter Bark had given him flashed through his mind.
– I traced the distribution route of long-unclaimed goods with bulk shipments of Flame Runes, just as you suggested.
Aion cut straight across the hollow courtyard of Excion without hesitation.
– The Golden Scale Merchant Union. The Flame Runes used in the Hazel Dorm fire incident came through them.
The Grand Atrium. He passed through the central hall where countless people held their breath.
‘Where? Where is it…?’
There was no time.
He had no way of knowing when a massive explosion would unleash the Conflagration across this place.
– Only those of merchant-lord rank within the union have the authority to arbitrarily decide the distribution of Grade-2 Restricted Magical Items like Flame Runes.
Aion pushed off up a secluded staircase that no one had thought to search after the evacuation order, leading toward the roof of the Grand Atrium.
‘There wasn’t enough time to scatter the Flame Runes!’
The assembly point being set at the Grand Atrium had been decided only after the attack began.
So the culprit would have moved the Flame Runes only after the students had evacuated.
– I investigated the three merchant-lords who lead the union. One was far too young, and while another had a deceased wife, they had no children together.
Flame Runes capable of engulfing such a vast space in flames all at once would surely be conspicuous.
Therefore, they had to be in a place where people wouldn’t easily find them.
– And the last merchant-lord I found. He had a daughter currently enrolled here at Excion.
‘…The roof.’
The Grand Atrium had no basement facilities.
Then the only place where bulk Flame Runes and the person who planned this could hide was the roof.
– And indeed, the person who requested emergency procurement from the merchant company’s side from within Excion was her as well.
Click—
“Damn… it’s locked.”
Whoosh…
Her hair, usually pinned up carelessly, had come loose and hung long around her shoulders, drenched by the rain in the darkness.
Crack-boom—!
Lightning split the sky, and pale light flooded the rooftop.
– Therefore, the prime suspect with the greatest likelihood of connection to this incident was,
gone. The careless, scatterbrained girl he’d always known had vanished entirely.
In her place stood only a person whose features were twisted tight with something harder, colder.
“…You.”
Aion knew this girl.
– Luana Belmore.
On the rooftop of the Grand Atrium.
Luana Belmore parted her crimson lips and smiled—a smile so gentle it was chilling.
“Welcome, Aion.”
Hisssss—
Flame and steam erupted from her body.
“…I’ve been waiting for you.”
The Untalented Mage Swallows a Catastrophic Future — Episode 62
Author
Wang Mozhi
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yeon
Cover
Dari
UCI
G720:N+A036-20260706063.0062
ⓒ2026, Wang Mozhi
※ This e-book is protected under the Copyright Law of the Republic of Korea.
No part or whole of this work may be reprocessed in any form without permission of the author and publisher.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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