Sovereign of the Ashes

At that time, there was a significant number of black magic initiates like Sein in Mystralora City.

The major divine towers in the Magus World demonstrated a certain level of tolerance and understanding toward these initiates.

After all, black magic initiates were, in a sense, victims—innocent children abducted and forced into the underground.

Furthermore, the frequent abduction of school-age children by black mages reflected poorly on the region’s divine towers and the orders of the knights.

In such instances, the Magus Alliance might penalize the divine towers or orders of the knights in the region. In extreme cases, they might even close down these established entities.

Due to unique geographical and historical factors, Gloomhaven had remained outside any divine tower’s influence.

Even after the Divine Tower of Dawn and other forces had cleared the area of black mages there, they refrained from overextending their reach into that area.

After securing the crystal core of the Rank Four Sandworm King along with other spoils, the Divine Tower of Dawn and its allies progressively withdrew their forces from the Underworld, leaving it once again a region of chaos and desolation.

Some black magic initiates from Mystralora City who had resisted alongside the black mages were eventually eliminated by the combined efforts of divine tower mages and ranked knights.

Fighting against beings of Rank One and above as an initiate offered very little chance of survival.

Even Sein, at his peak initiate status, armed with the Solar Eye spell and his mask, could not guarantee victory over a Rank One mage—the disparity in their life levels was simply too great.

Aside from those who resisted, there were initiates in Mystralora City who either defected to the divine towers or were captured.

Fortunately, among the mages and knights who decimated Mystralora City, benevolent individuals, like Medich, were not rare.

Thus, the treatment of captured black magic initiates was not overly severe.

Sein was unsure of the screening methods employed by the Divine Tower of Dawn but, according to Master Medich, most of the captured initiates were shown understanding and allowed to continue their studies at the Divine Tower of Dawn.

Only a handful with particularly malicious intentions were executed.

Upon Sein’s request, Master Medich quickly retrieved the information of these black magic initiates using his crystal ball.

Sein speculated that the Divine Tower of Dawn’s decision to retain these initiates, beyond recognizing their potential as a result of the harsh survival conditions fostered by the black mages, was also strategic.

Keeping them in the academy made it easier to monitor these former “black magic initiates”.

As expected, after being taken in by the Divine Tower of Dawn, it was significantly harder for these black magic initiates to gain permission for external quests compared to other magic initiates.

Even so,the majority of these black magic initiates had already escaped from their previous suffering by fleeing from Mystralora City.

Despite having their freedom limited, life at the academy felt akin to paradise compared to their difficult life as black magic initiates.

Over the years, many of these black magic initiates, leveraging their strength and resolve, gradually emerged as some of the academy’s most notable figures.

The harsh environment cultivated by the black mages and the brutal elimination practices among initiates were not entirely futile.

These methods proved somewhat effective in identifying the most exceptional and formidable initiates.

Sein’s personality and his exceptional performance during the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War were also deeply influenced by his early experiences.

It was uncommon to find mages like Sein, who, under usual circumstances, would be immersed in research within the solitude of a laboratory or library.

The numerous lists Master Medich retrieved were indications that a considerable number of black magic initiates had survived the incident.

However, Sein felt a pang of disappointment upon not finding the names of Leena, Zorro, Faye, and others.

Reflecting on Master Morsidor’s final words and Leena’s letter, he remembered that Zorro and Faye were under the protection of Lady Jeanne, the Rank Two black mage, while Leena was with her mentor, Fareena.

With such guardianship, it was unlikely they had been captured by the Divine Tower of Dawn. Any encounter would likely have resulted in a fierce battle rather than capture.

Yet, amidst the unfamiliar names, Sein’s eyes lit upon one he recognized.

“Master Medich, can I meet this person? She’s my friend!” he asked.

Sein’s excitement was palpable as he emphasized the word “friend” with hope in his eyes.

The name of the profile on the crystal ball was a Quasi Mage named Marie.

Master Medich also seemed to recall Marie.

“So, she’s your friend,” he remarked in surprise before nodding and saying, “She’s a good kid. Given your circumstances back then, it’s no surprise that both of you can become friends.”

Rather than sending a message through his crystal ball, Medich took Sein directly to the 336th floor of the divine tower.

As Sein flew behind Master Medich, he already had a hunch about what was to come.

His speculation was finally proved correct when Master Medich pressed the magic doorbell and they were greeted by a Rank One female mage in a yellow dress.

“Master Medich, to what do I owe this pleasure?” the female mage greeted with a smile.

“I’ve missed your yellow mint tea so I thought of coming to have a cup,” Medich replied.

“And this mage behind me is Sein, from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring. He’s a friend of your fifth apprentice,” he introduced before discreetly sharing Sein’s background through voice transmission.

The beautiful Rank One female mage quickly understood the situation and called toward the back, “Marie, your friend is here!”

The sound of shattered glassware was heard.

An exasperated, high-pitched female voice exclaimed, “Angie, what are you doing?!”

Thud, thud, thud!

A sequence of hurried footsteps ensued as a female magic initiate with short, green hair burst out of the laboratory, holding a younger girl with pigtails in a headlock.

“Friends? As if I have any left! I told you to keep Kled away from me!” the green-haired initiate huffed.

However, her frustration was instantly replaced by surprise as she looked up and saw Sein.

Sein, finally catching a proper view of her face, could not help but smile as he greeted, “Long time no see, Marie.”

The younger girl, previously held in a headlock by Marie, crashed onto the wooden floor with a loud thud.

“Marie~!” the younger girl whined in pain.