The AI Archmage - Chapter 69

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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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AI Grand Mage Episode 69

Hayden Kaul, the Red Tower’s successor, lay pulverized on the ground—defeated by nothing more than a 1st Circle Magic Missile.
And not by anyone of consequence, but by a mere student of the Blue Tower: Tult Bazenya.
Naturally, the Red Tower mages stood rooted in bewilderment, their faces blank.
But what could they do?
The evidence of their defeat was right there before them—Hayden’s broken form sprawled across the dueling ground.
And in that heavy silence, Sion approached Tult and offered his praise.
“Well done, Tult! You’re the pride of the Blue Tower!”
“…Me, sir?”
Tult, having regained control of his body, gestured at himself with a bewildered expression.
He hadn’t done anything, really.
“You did! You faced the Red Tower’s heir and crushed him with brilliant sorcery!”
“…”
“As your master, I must say—I’m truly proud! I barely ever cry, and yet tears are threatening to spill!”
Watching Sion embrace him with an expression brimming with emotion, Tult paused in thought.
‘Could it be that I truly am a magic genius of unparalleled brilliance, the greatest of all time?’
But Tult, true to his merchant family roots, quickly succeeded in objectifying himself.
‘No, that can’t be it.’
And then he understood exactly what his teacher wanted.
At this moment, in this dueling ground, all eyes were fixed upon him.
His teacher was wary of attracting excessive attention, whereas he himself needed renown.
Which meant.
“I managed it, sir!”
Having calculated swiftly, Tult embraced Sion in return and wore an expression full of emotion.
For now, he had no idea how or why the duel had turned in their favor, but he’d decided to commit to this story.
‘…Though honestly, I have no confidence in cleaning up this mess afterward.’
But having wagered on this, there was nothing for it but to do his best.
“Tult! Tult! Tult!”
The Blue Tower students, not entirely sure what had just happened, began chanting his name regardless—after all, Tult had won.
And Sion, who had been savoring Tult’s victory as though it were his own, allowed the corners of his mouth to rise slightly as he thought to himself.
‘Drink it all in, my disciple—every drop of attention that should have fallen on me.’
That way, he would bear the scrutiny of both the Red Tower and the Council in his stead.
The path ahead might well be thorny, of course.
But it would be fine.
…Probably.

* * *

Moments later, Hayden regained consciousness.
He stared blankly into the void, and then began to laugh quietly.
“Heh… ha… hahaha…”
He had lost, after all.
And not to Lumia, but to some Blue Tower student.
The price he would have to pay was staggering.
“Then, since the stakes were set through our duel, I trust you’ll honor them faithfully.”
“…You.”
Hayden glared at Sion.
What had been made between Sion and Hayden was merely a verbal contract.
Of course, whether the contract was kept or broken, it would cause no legal trouble whatsoever.
“Was it all orchestrated?”
“Who can say?”
Sion tilted his head with an expression of perfect innocence.
“I’m afraid I don’t follow what you’re suggesting.”
“…”
“Well, don’t be too disappointed. That’s simply how life works, isn’t it? There are ups and downs for everyone.”
Crunch.
Hayden, glaring at Sion, ground his teeth together.
“Do you truly believe you can bear the consequences? Even if you claim direct lineage to the Marquis House, there is still the matter of obstructing the Council’s will…”
“That’s hardly a concern of yours, is it?”
Sion spoke quietly, a faint smile playing at his lips.
“Why not? Are you going to report that we ignored the Council’s wishes because we wanted to do something about Lumia?”
……!
“Or perhaps you’ll commit perjury and claim we used foul play in a sacred magical duel?”
Sion bent forward until they were eye to eye.
Then, quietly, he placed a hand on Hayden’s shoulder.
Hayden reflexively tried to shake it off with mana, but Sion’s hand didn’t budge an inch.
……!
Hayden’s eyes trembled.
The atmosphere was entirely different from their first meeting.
Nothing like the man who had been overwhelmed by his mana before.
Rather, there was an aura of dominance radiating from Sion.
“You won’t. The wager of this duel held no clause for your personal revenge.”
“……And within that wager, there was nothing concerning my own vendetta.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Sion smiled thinly and posed his question.
“So will you?”
……!
Hayden’s shoulders flinched at the words.
There was absolute certainty in Sion’s question.
“I… I…”
But Hayden had nothing more to say.
At this point, there was nothing he could do at all.
He’d put on a good bluff, but in the end, that was all it had been.
Hayden bowed his head and fell silent.
Sion nodded approvingly, gave his shoulder a light pat without a word, and rose to his feet.
[Well, I’d say this matter is wrapped up nicely.]
‘I suppose so.’
Sion responded to Akasha’s remark and glanced back at Hayden for a moment.
The expression of someone who had lost everything in the world—utterly dazed.
Surely this was the first time in his life he’d faced such wretchedness and torment.
[But there is something, Human. That magic that man deployed earlier, which he called a secret technique of the Red Tower…….]
‘Yeah. My research materials.’
Sion let out a hollow laugh as he answered Akasha.
Of course, it was somewhat different.
It appeared to be a spell formula created by converting Altair’s Magic Engineering principles into magic.
When he was Altair, there had been a few theoretical frameworks he’d conceived during the process of creating Grimoires.
‘I had made a few based on materials from the Akashic Records. Incantation Shortening and Magic Enhancement.’
[Yes, precisely. That magic called the Ring of Fire, which Hayden created, possessed that function. And its design as well…….]
‘Was identical to my theories.’
Sion’s lips curved upward slowly.
Of course, it was far from a pleasant expression.
A killing intent welled up unbidden.
Every theory Altair had created in his lifetime had been precious.
At the very least, they were never meant to be exploited by greedy old mages.
“……I think I need to look into this a bit more carefully.”
He couldn’t be overt about it.
It was better to avoid exposing his connection to Altair to the Red Tower and the Council for now.
He would simply investigate the truth calmly and methodically.
It was about time he began tracing what had become of the legacy he’d left behind in the past.
[From what I understand, Human, you designed the Workshop so that most materials would be disposed of upon your death. The theories suspected of being leaked this time were also scheduled for disposal.]
“That’s correct.”
[But if they were leaked instead of being disposed of, then perhaps among those you once trusted…….]
“Stop.”
Sion cut it off right there.
Nothing was certain yet.
The Magic Council might have reconstructed that knowledge somehow, or pieced together a complete theory from fragmentary information.
The Magic Council certainly had the capacity to do such a thing.
“For now, I investigate. And baseless speculation isn’t your role to voice, Akasha.”
“Yes, I’ll update it right away.”
Akasha nodded at Sion’s words.
Sion paused, recalling something.
‘……Didn’t they mention there was conflict among the disciples?’
It seemed he’d need to have another conversation with Casen soon enough.

* * *

Hayden and the Red Tower mages fled from the Blue Tower as though pursued.
Likely he wouldn’t see their faces for some time.
And Lumia watched them go with evident satisfaction, her laughter bright.
“Kya-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
“You’re laughing like a villain, ma’am.”
At Sion’s remark, Lumia’s laughter cut short, and she spoke sheepishly.
“I, I just wanted to try this once…….”
“Don’t.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lumia quickly corrected herself, lowering her head with proper posture.
Of course, there was a reason she’d laughed so wildly.
When someone does something they don’t normally do, it’s always for a reason.
“But I’m happy! For the first time ever, I got to land a blow on that bastard!”
“Ah, yes, you did.”
The slights and dismissals Lumia had endured for the Blue Tower were too numerous to count.
Given that, her excessive joy was understandable.
“The Tower Master was accustomed to defeat before I arrived, after all.”
“That’s true.”
“Do better from now on.”
“I suppose…….”
Lumia’s spirits sank as quickly as they’d risen.
Better to let it be, then.
Bang!
“Oho-ho-ho-ho!”
Serentia entered making that strange cackling sound—true to form for a Deputy Tower Master, no less.
She, too, was in far better spirits than usual.
“We did it, Sion!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Those Red Tower bastards have been such a thorn in my side, and now we’ve settled the score!”
Serentia swept in with high energy and took her seat.
Once seated, she sat quietly for a moment before suddenly tilting her head with a puzzled expression.
“Aren’t you happy, Sion?”
“So-so? It’s not as if I bested the Red Tower Master himself, or even accomplished something extraordinary by taking down his successor.”
“Ah.”
Serentia’s mouth opened softly at Sion’s response.
“I, I suppose that makes sense, from your perspective.”
“Well, of course this victory has expanded our available options by recovering a Main Tower mage, as I see it.”
As if the thought had just occurred to him, Sion turned to Serentia with a question.
“Speaking of which, what are our spoils of war up to these days?”
“Ah, that’s actually why I came now.”
Serentia offered an explanation.
“The ‘contract’ itself has been properly settled. Maxwell is now officially under the Main Tower’s command.”
“Good.”
“However, the seal the Red Tower placed on him remains. And to lift that seal, he’d need to go back to the Red Tower…….”
“Ah, that’s not a problem. I can lift it myself.”
“……Pardon?”
Serentia’s head tilted in confusion at his words.
“That’s a seal placed directly by the Deputy Tower Master herself, you realize? You do know she’s an 8th Circle mage, yes?”
“I do.”
“And you can lift it?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, I see.”
Serentia immediately decided to employ the “Sion Persuasion Method” she’d recently mastered.
‘Right, because it’s Sion!’
He knew the secret hideout of the Previous Tower Master, had forged an alliance by visiting the Artisan Union, and possessed such prodigious magical talent that even Lumia, a magic genius in her own right, seemed trivial by comparison!
Well, she’d manage one way or another!
Having abandoned her worries and convinced herself, Serentia turned to Sion with a question.
“Should I go fetch our senior right away, then?”
“What else would we do if not?”
“Of course.”
Serentia sprang from her chair and swept out the door without hesitation.
She might have faltered in the past, but Sion’s presence had stripped away all such doubt.
Lumia, who had been listening quietly, asked with curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
“But how exactly are you planning to lift the seal?”
“The Vice Tower Master of the Red Tower has blocked our senior’s mana channel with mana in the form of a miniature spell. All I need to do is dispel that.”
“I understand the concept, but can you actually do it?”
“Can’t the Tower Master do it?”
…
Lumia turned her gaze toward the window, content to savor the Blue Tower’s victory.
As she gazed out for a moment, something suddenly came to mind.
“Oh, now that I think about it—during the last duel, you used Tult’s body to participate, didn’t you?”
“You noticed.”
“Yes, judging by your reaction, that must have been it.”
Lumia hesitated for a moment before asking with difficulty.
“Could you… could you tell me how you did it? I imagine someone like you must have systematized the spell formula for it…”
“Oh, that’s not difficult at all. Though I think practical instruction would be easiest. Would you lend me your hand?”
“Of course.”
At those words, Lumia immediately extended her hand to Sion.
“Relax now, there’s nothing to fear.”
So Sion channeled his mana through her, much as he had done with Tult.
Flash!

* * *

“Senior, it’s here.”
Maxwell arrived at the room following Serentia’s guidance.
He stood before the door and drew a steady breath.
He carried guilt with him.
The guilt of choosing “magic” over the Blue Tower.
Though he had not studied the Red Tower’s magic, he nonetheless considered it a betrayal of sorts.
Did he even have the right to do so?
He didn’t know.
Perhaps everything would become clear once he spoke with the “junior” who lay beyond this door.
Maxwell pushed the door open with difficulty and stepped inside.
In that moment, he saw a familiar figure—a young woman.
Maxwell called her name carefully.
“…Lumia.”
“Oh, is that you, Senior?”
Lumia smiled softly and looked at Maxwell, then spoke.
“We spoke before, didn’t we?”
“…Huh?”
“We did. When you were with Barean.”
Lumia smiled softly and said,
“I’m Sion Rostery.”
“…?”
For a moment, Maxwell’s mind went blank.

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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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