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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 136: The Night of the Mages (1)
Kwaaang!
Oscar was thrown out of the shattered glass chamber along with a large amount of water.
“Cough! Cough!”
As he lay on the floor, gasping for breath, the homunculus drifted along the water towards him.
It was continuously contracting and expanding, growing smaller with each passing moment.
Oscar watched it for a while, deep in thought.
‘…Why did this thing fail?’
When he was bound by the creature’s mana, he had thought he was done for.
But for some reason, it had failed to take control of his body.
‘Logically speaking, it must have something to do with the fact that I’m possessing this body.’
In fact, the homunculus had questioned what he was, why he was inhabiting this body.
In other words, it had realized that his soul was not the rightful owner of this body.
‘And on top of that, its voice was full of fear.’
Was it simply terrified by the overwhelming presence of his soul?
A flicker of doubt arose in his mind, but there was no way the creature could answer him now.
Before he knew it, it had shrunk to the size of a fingernail.
And soon enough, it became so minuscule that it vanished completely.
“……”
Feeling slightly uneasy for a moment, Oscar suddenly sensed a familiar presence approaching from the corridor.
* * *
“Hmph.”
It was early morning, and everyone was still deep in slumber.
Unable to sleep, Oscar sat at his desk, organizing his notes.
‘At least I’m seeing some progress.’
The problem children—those troublemakers.
To be honest, when he entrusted them with the mana development facility, he had been skeptical.
‘But in the end, they did an excellent job.’
The opponent they had faced this time was on an entirely different level.
A being that had accumulated mana for over 200 years—practically limitless power.
‘If they can handle something like that… they’ll all reach Level 5 in no time.’
As long as they could stabilize their mana, nothing was out of reach.
A single real battle like this was worth more than years of secluded research.
‘There’s still a long way to go, but we’re moving forward steadily.’
Each of them had weaknesses, but their talent was undeniable.
If they continued to grow without any major issues, soon enough, the White Tower would see the emergence of three high-ranking mages.
‘Something to look forward to.’
A new golden age for the White Tower.
The mere thought of it brought a smile to his face.
“...!”
Suddenly, Oscar sensed multiple powerful mana sources and quickly got up from his seat.
He hurried to the window.
Outside, along the lakeside, dozens of vehicles and carriages were lined up.
‘Now that I think about it…’
Today was the day the Imperial reinforcements were scheduled to arrive.
Straightening his attire, he stepped outside to welcome them.
* * *
The opulent automobile was adorned with golden embellishments, bearing an emblem of a phoenix and a sword—symbols of eternity.
It was the insignia of House Calderan, a dynasty with a thousand years of history.
Now, it was the symbol of the empire that had conquered the continent.
“What a truly beautiful lake.”
The knight in the passenger seat spoke, and the man in the backseat gave a brief nod.
“Yes.”
His response was curt, but the knight showed no sign of displeasure.
The man he served had always been this way.
Given his position, it was perhaps better that he remained so composed.
“Shall we disembark?”
“We will go ahead first.”
“No need.”
Before anyone could assist him, the man opened the door himself.
The knights flinched in alarm, hastily moving to his side, but he waved them off with a casual gesture.
“Stand aside. I can at least walk on my own.”
“……”
The knights kept their mouths shut.
Saying anything further might be seen as an insult to their liege.
“Hm.”
Leaning on his staff, the man stepped out of the vehicle, his narrowed eyes fixed on the bridge leading to the artificial island.
“We have someone waiting for us. We must not make a poor first impression.”
With that, he began walking across the bridge, accompanied by his knights.
At the center of the bridge stood a single mage, clad in a white robe.
“I’ve been expecting you.”
“So, you must be the Young Lord.”
The Noble of the White Tower—Oscar Crucian.
A name he had heard more times than he cared to count.
The man studied him, observing him as if he were some strange creature.
“We spoke over communication two days ago, didn’t we?”
“Yes. At the time, I did not realize I was speaking to a member of the Imperial Family. I apologize for my rudeness.”
The man let out a faint chuckle.
“I didn’t dress in a particularly distinguished manner. How did you figure it out?”
“…I recognized it from the knights accompanying you.”
Oscar glanced briefly at the knights standing protectively around him.
Though they were suppressing their presence, the distinct nature of their mana was unmistakable.
‘Like the sharp thorns of a rose.’
As far as he knew, the only group with such an aura was the Imperial Royal Guard.
‘And the ones they protect are obvious.’
The members of the Imperial Family.
Which meant the man before him was a royal prince.
He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.
‘…I don’t recall this person.’
By timeline alone, it wouldn’t be strange if they had met before.
However, in the past, he had been far from someone a prince would have any reason to meet.
In fact, only the Emperor and Crown Prince had ever requested to see him.
Perhaps they had briefly encountered each other at an official event, but at the very least, Oscar had no memory of it.
‘Then again, the only royals I remember are the Crown Prince and the first and second princesses. He must be someone below them.’
In his previous life, he had been too busy managing the Magic Tower to pay much attention to the Imperial Family.
The man let out a small exclamation of admiration.
“Even with their uniforms, most people wouldn’t be able to recognize my knights’ affiliation. How did you figure it out?”
“I’ve heard rumors that the Royal Guards of the Imperial Family possess mana that resembles the thorns of a rose.”
“Is that so? Seems like you lot are quite the renowned figures now.”
The prince turned back, smiling, but the knights remained stone-faced.
His words sounded like praise, but they knew better.
It was a subtle rebuke—an acknowledgment that a mere Level 4 mage had seen through them.
“…We will continue to improve.”
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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“Come now, no need to take it so seriously. You’re making me look bad.”
The prince shook his head and turned back to Oscar.
“Knights are always the same—dull, stiff, and utterly humorless. Are mages any different?”
“Well… mages aren’t particularly entertaining either.”
“Really? That’s unexpected. I’m enjoying myself quite a bit talking to you.”
Grinning, the man placed a hand over his heart.
“I am Berkan de Calderan. Though the world knows me better as the Ninth Prince.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness. My name is—”
“No need. I already know. Oscar Crucian, the Noble of the White Tower. Your mana perception skills are truly remarkable.”
For some reason, he seemed genuinely amused.
Sensing Oscar’s curiosity, he spoke first.
“Ah, forgive me. It’s just… it’s been years since I’ve traveled this far outside the Imperial Palace. I suppose I’m a little excited.”
“I see.”
“My health has never been the best.”
Berkan tapped his staff lightly, drawing Oscar’s gaze to his leg.
‘For a royal, an injury like that should have been healed.’
With access to archbishops and legendary elixirs, there was no reason an imperial prince couldn’t be cured.
Which meant only two possibilities remained—
‘Either he’s fallen out of the Emperor’s favor…’
If the Emperor, the pinnacle of the continent, personally rendered that leg unusable, then no one would dare to fix it.
That would be no different from openly defying the Emperor himself.
‘And the other case… is a curse.’
A curse that neither divine power nor elixirs could cure.
It was a unique sorcery used by certain demons, much like the "Curse of Dreams" engraved upon him.
"I've been cursed."
"…!"
Oscar, who never expected him to say it so bluntly to his face, was momentarily taken aback and lowered his head.
"If my gaze was offensive, I apologize."
"No, it's fine. I emphasized my staff precisely so that you would notice. I just thought you'd be curious, so I told you."
For something like that, the knights standing behind him were exuding a rather menacing aura.
As if they were silently asking: Did you really have to make him say something like that?
"…Please, come inside."
"Let's do that."
As he began walking first, he casually asked,
"Was there any trouble with the cleanup?"
"There were some unfortunate incidents, but we handled them well."
"Unfortunate incidents?"
Berkan turned his head toward him.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a long story to explain…"
Oscar briefly summarized the events they had encountered as concisely as possible.
After listening to everything, Berkan's expression hardened.
Then, he turned around and gestured.
A knight hurried over, and Berkan whispered softly.
"Contact our people in the imperial family and discreetly gather any information related to homunculi."
"Understood."
As the knight departed, he furrowed his brows and shook his head.
"…I apologize. I’ve put you through a great ordeal."
"Even the imperial family was unaware of this?"
"As shameful as it is to admit… we truly had no idea."
He acknowledged the oversight with frank honesty.
"To be more precise, it would be more accurate to say that we couldn’t have known."
Couldn’t have known?
Hearing those words, Oscar's brows knitted together.
"Are you saying someone deliberately concealed the information?"
"To be completely honest, we didn’t even know why the artificial island was designated as a restricted area."
He added one more sentence.
"Now that I've heard your story, I think I finally understand why we never knew."
Someone had intentionally hidden the information—and Berkan had an idea of who it was.
Oscar understood what he meant, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud.
Speaking carelessly could easily be considered treason against the imperial family.
Sensing his hesitation, Berkan spoke first, making things clear.
"You've probably already realized it, but I believe it was the Emperor from 200 years ago who concealed the information."
"…"
"What do you think the reason was?"
It was a question that felt like a test.
Oscar quickly responded.
"If that is true, there could be two possible reasons."
"Oh? Two? Let’s hear them."
"One, the Emperor from 200 years ago wanted to cover up his own disgrace."
At that time, the artificial island and the Night of the Mages had failed.
The reason was undoubtedly that the homunculi had completely escaped their control.
Given the astronomical amounts of money and time invested in the project, the Emperor would have wanted to bury the truth.
"And the other?"
After a brief moment of hesitation, Oscar spoke carefully.
"Perhaps… the Emperor was deeply interested in immortality."
In other words, he might have feared his approaching death and turned to homunculi research in search of a way to extend his life.
From what Oscar had glimpsed in his visions, the Empire had secretly overseen the experiment.
"And since the Emperor’s name was officially tied to the project, there's no doubt about it."
No researcher in their right mind would dare to use the Emperor’s name to deceive patients.
Moreover, an experiment of that scale could not have possibly taken place without the Emperor’s knowledge.
"After hearing your explanation, I came to the same conclusion."
Berkan murmured with a troubled expression.
"Things are going to get busy."
The imperial family would now have to scramble to collect all information related to homunculi.
If it were revealed that a past Emperor had dabbled in forbidden sciences—or if a related dungeon was discovered—the imperial family's reputation would be ruined.
"A secrecy pact will be inevitable."
"Understood."
That meant they would have to draft an oath of confidentiality.
Naturally, the people most likely to leak this information were the Special Forces members.
"As a token of goodwill, though I hesitate to call it such—if you ever need help, let me know. I will lend my strength at least once."
The help of the Ninth Prince.
"Not a bad deal."
The imperial family was undoubtedly the most powerful entity on the continent.
And a promise from a royal carried more weight than anything else.
Most matters could be resolved swiftly with such backing.
Oscar gave a slight bow.
"Thank you."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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