As soon as the wizards returned to the tower, they busy themselves with the aftermath of the war.

They brought the unconscious Elena to her room and no longer paid her much attention.

After all, the healer would check Elena’s condition and treat her soon anyway.

But before the healer arrived, there were those who came to see her first.

“She fainted.”

“Yes. I heard that the healer will be visiting soon.”

It was the Archmage and Jeremy.

“This is not a case that they can easily cure.”

Karen noted as she looked at Elena’s condition.

“Then again…”

Jeremy’s expression darkened.

“Yeah, it is. For now, we have to move her to the office.”

Karen touched Elena’s cheek and then raised her hand.

The magic that flowed out of her hand wrapped around Elena’s whole body.

Then, soon after, Elena’s body disappeared.

At the same time, Karen grabbed Jeremy’s shoulder and disappeared.

The next thing they knew, the three of them were in the Archmage’s office. Karen took one look at the floating Elena and channeled her magic beneath her.

A long table suddenly appeared and Elena’s body was settled there.

Karen observed her body again.

This time, she injected her own magical energy and inspected her body directly.

Elena’s physical condition was as Karen had predicted.

“As expected, she used too much power and passed out.”

“Then…”

Jeremy said with a gloomy face.

“But it’s not serious enough to kill her right away.”

Karen gestured to a bookcase that contained a myriad of drugs.

Then a bottle of clear medicine flew out.

“It is not something that can be ignored. Elena’s strength as a Spirit Master is slowly starting to corrode her.”

Supporting Elena’s head, the Archmage pressed the drug into her mouth.

“She has been given a magic stabilizer, so it’ll be fine for a while.”

Since ancient times, the lifespan of the Spirit Masters has been short.

It was natural, given their fragile human bodies and the power of Mother Nature.

Moreover, they didn’t use that power entirely for themselves.

It was automatically used to maintain the life of the Spirit Master.

So, their life span was inevitably shortened.

Nevertheless, shouldering such a burden was more challenging to regular humans than to wizards. 

Magic and nature’s power may be similar in some areas, but their characters differ.

Merging power could not take place easily.

And it consumed the life of the Spirit Master more quickly.

Karen wearily gazed at Elena.

“But don’t overdo it.”

While she tied Elena’s hair, Karen recalled a distant memory.

To the person, she loved more than anyone.

To the man, who possessed the body of a wizard and eventually became a Spirit Master.

‘Henus…’

In her mind, the face of the weakened man was still clear.

Long silver hair and blue eyes.

Even though his face had become haggard, the smile he always put on while looking at her was still there.

Karen’s eyes became moist.

Realizing that the rims of her eyes were getting hot, she removed her hand from Elena.

Then, she bit her lip hard, restraining her emotions.

Jeremy was just staring at her with firm eyes.

He knew who Karen was thinking of and who she was being sentimental about.

So Jeremy couldn’t say anything.

After a while, the silence was broken.

“It’ll be difficult right now, but we’ll have a cure for Elena soon.”

“Already?”

Karen smiled bitterly at Jeremy’s question.

“I’ve been working on it… I’ve been working on it ever since Henus became incapacitated. But it’s only ‘now,’ not ‘already’.”

“Ah….”

Silence fell between the two again.

An awkward undercurrent was about to form when Elena’s eyelids moved.

Long eyelashes trembled, and then the blue eyes were exposed.

As soon as she opened her eyes, Elena abruptly rose to the unfamiliar ceiling.

“Ugh.”

Elena briefly moaned at the sudden onslaught of dizziness.

Then, Karen and Jeremy approached her.

“Lie down a little longer.”

“Archmage…? Teacher?”

Elena looked at the two with puzzled eyes.

She recalled her last memory before she lost consciousness.

‘I used a powerful magic to save Lexion….’

But she couldn’t remember very well after that.

“Elena.”

Karen called out her name while she carefully pushed Elena back down.

“What happened?”

Elena asked in bewilderment; Jeremy explained what had happened.

Except for Karen and Jeremy, no one else knew that Elena was a Spirit Master.

“Didn’t I tell you not to overdo it?”

Karen frowned.

“… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just try not to push yourself for a while.”

“Okay, Archmage.”

****

The Black Continent, somewhere.

Keeeh!

All living things died and monsters ran rampantly around the blackened plain.

Occasionally, monsters would eat each other or spread throughout the Black Continent.

However, there were places where even such monsters couldn’t enter easily.

Like the Black Tower that suddenly appeared in the Black Continent some time ago.

Even the monsters didn’t dare wander near the tall tower.

There was only the blackened earth.

The top of the Black Tower.

There was a man walking all over the place who didn’t fit in with the gloomy, dark space.

The handsome man with neatly curled golden hair and blue eyes frowned as he looked out the window.

It was a landscape he never liked.

Even though it was dark, it was too dark for him.

Killian’s brows further tightened.

At that moment, the door to the room where he was staying opened.

“Mr. Killian.”

It was not long ago that this wizard came to the Black Tower.

Ever since he had been attacked by a monster, he had been working for the Black Tower.

“Lu… What is it again?”

Killian asked the young man.

The young wizard responded despondently.

“I’m Lupes.”

“Ah, Lupes. Okay, what’s going on?”

“The wizard is looking for you.”

There was only one other wizard at the Black Tower.

The one who commanded all the monsters at the Black Continent and built the seemingly endless tall Black Tower.

Killian hurried past Lupes.

Years have passed since he stayed by that person’s side, but the overwhelming power still terrified him.

Moreover, he hated it when the people he summoned were later than he expected.

So Killian had to find his room right away.

As he opened the door and entered, a man covered in black robes greeted him.

“Killian. You’re here.”

“Yes, Mage.”

Killian bowed and greeted him.

Long ago, he was the Wizard of the Black Tower who saved him when he lost everything.

Without knowing his name, age, or appearance, Killian willingly became one of his people.

The reason was simple.

He gave Killian strength.

“Not long ago, when my children headed to the White Continent.”

“Yes.”

“I felt a power that even I had never seen before.”

“… Yes?”

Killian’s eyes slightly widened at the wizard’s words.

He always thought the Wizard of the Black Tower was stronger than the Archmage of the Magic Tower.

Since he could use a massive amount of magic and was even capable of controlling those monsters.

But there was a kind of magic that even he wasn’t aware of?

“That power was displayed by a magician of the Magic Tower. And interestingly, it was done by the woman whom you hated the most.”

“No way… It was Elena Respell?”

The wizard nodded and then laughed.

“Yes. A very alluring woman with her red hair and blue eyes.”

At his answer, Killian’s eyes gleamed horribly.

“I want her power to be mine.”

The wizard stared at Killian and ordered:

“You bring that woman to me.”

“M-me?”

The wizard nodded.

Killian didn’t readily answer.

It was because of the fear engraved in his mind when he was still a child.

“Why? You can’t do it?”

The wizard asked when he noticed his hesitation.

However, Killian shook his head.

“No. I’ll do it.”

Despite the persistent fear he had from childhood, it was impossible to ignore the current fear he was facing.

“I see.”

The wizard chuckled.

Killian nodded at him and walked out of the room.

Left alone, the wizard looked at the place where Killian had left and then looked away.

His sharp gaze was directed at where a black sphere was floating.

The sphere that was formed from the mage’s condensed magic wriggled as if it were alive.

Inside, a pale, blue soul that was torn into dozens of pieces was screaming.

The wizard moved closer to the sphere.

Black magic flowed from the wizard’s hand into the sphere.

Then, the screams coming from the soul were hushed.

“Tsk.”

The wizard clicked his tongue.

It was the soul trampled on by the colossal hand that was summoned by Elena Respell of the White Continent.

To be precise, it was the gathered mass of monsters that the soul created that was trampled on, which caused a backlash to its creator and was torn into pieces. 

“You should have been more careful.”

The wizard stroked the black sphere.

“Then it wouldn’t have hurt so much, would it?”

The wizard’s lips rose sharply.

“Let’s do better next time, Henus.”