Surviving The Fourth Calamity

In the sixth month of Hilbert’s seclusion, the chaos in the Tower of Dark Enigma was completely wiped out by the joint return of the three Tower Masters.

Underground, Hill also fully settled down... If things really were as he had guessed, then among these three, perhaps one of them, or even more than one, had a very close connection with the world.

The fact that the Hainarson Clan would ultimately enter the territorial sphere of the Tower of Dark Enigma might truly be the World Will’s final effort.

This was not something that would surprise anyone.

If the world was ultimately saved by Mages, whether or not a child of the world participated in it... even if this child of the world did not play a major role... would make a great difference to the world itself.

The World Will, strictly speaking, was only the feedback of a certain kind of group consciousness. Unless there existed a World Master who was almost fused as one with that Will, it did not care about falling into a period of silence, or even vanishing altogether. As long as the world still existed, it would always reappear.

Even if it eventually fell under the Control of the Styx, it did not matter.

Whether Gilbert or Russell, as long as they existed while bearing the Fate that belonged to this world, the Will of this world would inevitably condense once more... The Styx was not Hell; what it controlled was merely a deviation of the Law, and it would not interfere with the natural operation of a world.

The World Will also did not care whether its own attribute would change; anyway, even if the Laws favoring death occupied the upper hand, that did not mean there would be no new life in this world.

The Styx, too, required a complete cycle of reincarnation.

Hell, however, was different.

Whether the Abyss or Hell, any world that fell into their hands would either be utterly destroyed, or directly converted into a part of some layer of Hell or an Abyssal Plane.

So Hill was not surprised at all that there would be a child of the world at the key points he had found... it would be stranger if there wasn’t.

But he had originally thought that the key point of Fate brought by the Hainarson Clan lay in Sia Tower.

Yet now he had gained a new understanding: the Tower of Dark Enigma might be more crucial.

Therefore, he decided to suppress his sense of existence to the lowest level for the time being, so as not to attract the attention of some Archmage who was bound to be extremely sensitive.

Especially since Aislin would inevitably explain all the recent events in crystal-clear detail.

If Ruth really was, as he suspected, deeply linked to the Laws... then he would certainly understand the particularity of the Hainarson Clan.

Then Hill could understand why he valued Gilbert so much.

Otherwise, he really couldn’t figure out why Ruth’s regard for Gilbert was enough to make even his two Eighth Ring Mage students somewhat apprehensive.

A Ruth like this would surely understand why Russell was so clever and capable, and why Gilbert’s precautions were so meticulous and comprehensive.

But for someone so full of doubts about everything around him, he would definitely pay extremely close attention to Gilbert’s movements, lest any flaw appear—especially when Gilbert was displaying such a sudden surge in Formation strength... If even Hill could sense Scott Rommel’s peculiarity, Ruth would certainly be aware of it as well.

Tsk, no wonder he had always kept such a tight watch on Gilbert.

Although Gilbert bore the Fate of this world, with his Mental Sea shaken and having been in long-term seclusion, he indeed was very suitable to be replaced... Hill’s reason for setting his sights on him was that he was the only one suitable to make a Soul trade with him, but outsiders would probably care more that, although his status in the Magic Tower was decent, he was faintly in a situation where he had only himself to rely on.

However, Hill could now also understand why a Mage this powerful would suffer from such severe paranoia.

Anyone, with such an important secret hidden in his heart, and aware that the enemy’s gaze had always hovered nearby, would inevitably feel as though every rustle of the grass heralded an enemy.

After taking another glance at the Magic Tower above and deciding to leave everything to Russell to handle on his own, Hill completely shut off all contact with the outside world.

-----------------

”Teacher, a lot has happened recently... roughly, that’s how it went...” Aislin gave a detailed report of everything she had done during this period, even making an utterly candid account of her schemes against Gilbert.

She knew very well that if she had succeeded, some things might still be glossed over, but failure... especially a failed scheme targeting her own people—people who could still speak for themselves in front of Ruth—rather than waiting for the other side to lodge a complaint full of blackened accusations, it was better to confess honestly herself.

At the very least, the facts would not be exaggerated.

In any case, Ruth had never expected his students to be all harmony and goodwill among themselves.

”Do you know where you went wrong, Aislin?” Archmage Ruth, sitting on the high dais, asked with a smile.

He wore a black robe, with a crossed collar that revealed the cyan under-robe beneath, and the outer robe was embroidered all over with delicate patterns in silver-cyan fine thread.

But if one looked closely, one could see that those patterns were actually the leaves of Black Taro.

In this world, only Mages of Eighth Ring and above had embroidery on their robes, but they usually chose plants that were already extinct, or that existed only in the Magic Garden.

So the fact that Ruth had Black Taro leaf patterns embroidered on his robe, causing him to always be regarded as the most eccentric Archmage, wasn’t all that surprising.

Aislin pressed her lips together... Of course she didn’t believe Ruth was questioning why she had chosen to target Gilbert.

When she did this, what she had been thinking—her teacher must be perfectly clear on that, and he would absolutely not consider it wrong for her to eliminate dissent and strike at a future competitor.

”I shouldn’t have decided to strike just because Russell is young and Gilbert was eager to go into seclusion, before I had properly studied that kid’s personality.” After thinking for a moment, she admitted it with some difficulty.

”No.” Ruth shook his head. ”How are you still like this? What’s the point of skirting the main issue in front of me?”

He lifted his chin slightly. ”Your greatest mistake is that you always want to achieve several goals with one move.

How is that possible?

The people you’re dealing with are all Mages; they might have flaws in temperament, but their Intelligence is certainly not lacking.

So before you do anything, you must figure out who you actually want to deal with.

Do you want Kamente Tower to fall into internal chaos, or do you want Gilbert to lose his ability to compete with you?

What kind of confidence made you think you could accomplish both things at the same time?

Look now—you’ve failed on both counts, haven’t you?

As for your deal with Nanali, Rolando might not see through it, but Kamente Tower certainly would.

No, even Scott Rommel, behind Prutt, has probably figured it out.

Otherwise... why would he make such a spectacle of going after Felis?

In his eyes, would a little brat be worth trading Prutt for?

The one he has always wanted is you.”

Aislin’s eyes flew wide open.

”See? This is the result of your greed.” Ruth shook his head. ”You underestimated how much trouble Gilbert could cause you in the future; that’s the only reason you dared to handle him this way.

But in Scott Rommel’s mind, what he needs is only a medium.

If, while dealing with you, he borrowed Gilbert’s hand just a little, or rather, made you mistakenly believe it was Gilbert who was attacking you, would you, at the first moment, suspect Gilbert?”

Aislin couldn’t help but freeze up... She absolutely would.