21st Century Archmage

“Y-Your Majesty, we must devise a countermeasure at once. Today is the final day of the Dark Empire’s warning.”

“What more needs to be said? No kingdom in history has ever bowed its head to black magic. Currently in the Royal Capital, we have priests and paladins dispatched by the temples, as well as 300 loyal Skyknights on standby. No matter how strong the Dark Empire is, they won’t be able to do much to us in a short amount of time.”

“Exactly so. Emperor Hadveria has caused this terrible mess because he’s gone completely mad, but the nobles, soldiers, and people of the Laviter Empire will not sit and watch. The Laviter Empire will soon be erased from history. We should be preparing to conquer empire land when that happens.”

The speakers were nobles of the Lialion Kingdom that shared a border with the Laviter Empire. Since they didn’t border any big mountain ranges, they had no real problems with monsters, and the kingdom had maintained decent relationships with the surrounding kingdoms for 200 years. Granted, since they bordered the Laviter Empire, they occasionally had to dispatch an envoy and lower their heads, but that was something everyone who lived next to the strong had to do. It was a peaceful kingdom without any real problems.

But not long ago, a huge issue occurred. The Laviter Empire’s Emperor Hadveria announced the Dark Empire. And a few days ago, an order of submission flew over from that very Dark Empire. If they submitted to the Empire and followed their commands, their lives would be spared, but if they refused, all lives in the kingdom’s Royal Capital would be wiped out. Most of the nobles gathered in the palace throne room were expressing their desire to fight.

“Still, they are black mages. According to the intel, there’s a rumor that Emperor Hadveria has reached the 8th Circle…”

“Harrumph! Count Antaros, what nonsense are you saying? I’ve never heard of an 8th Circle black mage ever appearing on the Continent. And there’s no doubt in my mind that Emperor Hadveria has been brainwashed by either the Shining Magic Tower or the priests of Kerma. As you yourself saw a few years ago, the Emperor is a Blade Master. How could someone who is already a Blade Master possibly become an 8th Circle mage?”

“That’s right. That’s just a nonsensical rumor.”

The high-ranking nobles who had gathered in the royal throne room at the King’s summons nodded. Right now, there were around 300 wyverns running patrols and standing guard over the skies of the Royal City, and 50 thousand men protecting the city like an iron wall. On top of that, 100 or so priests from various temples, as well as hundreds of paladins, had been called from all over the kingdom to reside in the Royal City to keep any Kerma priests or black mages in check.

“I hear you all loud and clear. Our kingdom may live in the Empire’s shadow, but through the favor of the gods, Lialion has safely continued to write its history. We cannot cast aside such a history, heritage, and even our piety to the gods by submitting to the Dark Empire. We shall issue a declaration of war against the Dark Empire!”

King Paneidron of the Lialion Kingdom, a ruler virtuous enough to be called a good king, declared war against the Dark Empire with a stern voice. 

“By thy royal decree!”

The conclusion had been determined from the start. The 50 high-ranking nobles in the throne room bowed as they accepted the will of their divine king.

“KUHAHAHAHA, KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“…!!”

The nobles looked up in alarm upon hearing the extremely loud laugh that suddenly reverberated outside. One moment later, a mana-charged cry came from the knights. 

“E-Enemies! Enemies have appeared!”

Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The massive bells used in emergencies tolled a continuous warning. King Paneidron and the nobles stiffened immediately.

“To think that you would dare to ignore my warning. You will feel the price of your foolishness down to the marrow of your bones today… KUHAHAHAHA!”

The sound of laughter was filled with so much mana that it echoed all the way into the royal palace.

“Knights of the Royal Guard, escort His Majesty to the underground refuge!” called out the leader of the Royal Guard, sensing the danger.

CRAAAAAAAAAAASH! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! Rummmmmble.

“Heavens…”

“What in the…”

Earsplitting booms shook the ground.

“Y-Your Majesty, the defense magic circle has ceased to function.”

The Tower Master of the Royal Magic Tower, Marquis Holidess, tremulously announced the breaking of the defensive magic circle. The Royal Family’s defensive magic circle could stand up against 7th Circle magic, but that invincible array was now in pieces. The faces of the nobles inside the throne room instantly filled with fear.

“AAAAAAAAH!”

“Th-The Devil’s wyverns!”

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa! Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

From outside, came the screams of knights and wyverns.

Craaaash!

And then, the throne room’s massive doors were suddenly blown apart. Dozens of Royal Guard Knights pulled out their swords with a clatter of steel.

Someone slowly walked in, stepping over the pieces of what had been the door.

Booooooooooooooooom! Fwooooooooooooooooooooooosh.

Through the gaping doorway, everyone could see raging flames and continuous explosions, as well as strange wyverns they’d never seen before flying in the sky.

“E-Emperor Hadveria…”

“My god…”

The person who came through the destroyed door was Emperor Hadveria of the Laviter Empire, the man who had declared the Dark Empire. He walked in, wearing a cloak gleaming with black luster.

A dozen knights followed him inside. A faint aura of darkness was wisping from their bodies like smoke.

“…Death Knights.”

“…”

With the sudden appearance of the oft-mentioned Death Knights and Emperor Hadveria, the air in the throne room instantly turned ice cold.

“T-To what do we owe the pleasure…”

While everyone’s mouths were agape, King Paneidron mustered up the courage to say a few trembling words.

“All of your subordinates outside have either died or fled, and those shoddy priests were reduced to dust with one spell. Kukuku.”

The King and nobles had been thinking of buying some time for reinforcements to arrive, but their hopes were mercilessly crushed.

Emperor Hadveria walked towards the throne upon which the king sat. Even though there were rows of nobles on either side of the throne room and a great number of knights, Hadveria walked straight down the middle with just ten Death Knights, walking casually as if this was his own palace.

“Halt!”

The Royal Guard Knights blocked his path, yelling at the Emperor to cease his impudence. They brandished their swords that were bright blue with Aura Blades at the Emperor, who continued to walk without heeding their words.

Flash! Splurt.

“Kugh.”

“Guaagh.”

However, they were sorely mistaken if they thought they could stop him. As soon as the Royal Knights began their swing, Death Knights appeared in front of Hadveria as if they had instantaneously warped there. They cut down everything in their path, including the Aura Bladed swords of the Royal Knights.

Splaaash.

Fountains of blood arced in the air simultaneously.

Throughout it all, the Emperor never stopped walking.

“Nngh…”

The King and the nobles were completely stricken with fear at the terrifying force of the Death Knights.

Hadveria reached the King. He casually extended his hand and grasped King Paneidron’s neck. The King trembled, unable to groan because of the vice on his neck.

“Huhuhu. Goodbye, you insect.”

With a crunch, he broke the King’s neck. The chilling sound rang out in the deathly silent throne room.

Fwiiiip, cra-crash.

Hadveria flung the King’s corpse aside, and the body crashed to the ground. He seated himself on the throne, upon which the King’s heat still lingered.

“Kill them all.” he said, his voice quiet.

“You… devil.”

Someone gritted out two words with great difficulty.

“Huhuhu.”

Hadveria laughed with pleasure at those words, and the Death Knights moved to carry out their master’s command, cutting down the still-frozen nobles with their Dark Aura-imbued swords.

And so, the Royal Family of the Lialion Kingdom, a nation with a long, storied history, disappeared in a single night. Emperor Hadveria of the Dark Empire and crazy mages had appeared using a large-scale teleportation array. Using a score of Death Knights and Death Wyverns, the Dark Empire ended things in a single moment so violent that the people of the Continent would forever remember the Dark Empire’s path of blood.

* * *

“Hup!”

Fwiiiiip, pi-pi-pi-pi-ping!

Imbued with my will, the sword slashed wildly in the air. The Grand Blade Master-level sword slashed without rest, cutting down an invisible enemy with a blade covered in a layer of mana that had gone from pale blue to near transparent.

I’d already spent an hour like this, swinging the sword until the mana in my mana core was depleted.

“Haah, haah, haah…”

I breathed raggedly, my chest heaving with exertion.

Clatter.

The sword fell to the smooth ground of the underground training hall.

“This isn’t it, either.”

By now, he should know I’m still alive. He could attack this place whenever he felt like doing so. To an 8th Circle mage, something like Warp was as easy as taking candy from a baby.

“Even with the defensive magic circle, it’s still dangerous. A concentrated barrage from a few Tower Masters is all it will take to rip open our defense.”

The only thing that could block him right now was the defensive magic array rigged over Nerman Castle.

“If he attacks the border fort…”

I didn’t even want to think about it. It was equipped with an 8th Circle defensive array, but because we lacked a second Grade 1 magic crystal, it couldn’t operate properly.

“Haah…”

Everything was rife with uncertainties, and the future seemed bleak. I breathed out a deep sigh. I had always been full of confidence, but the dilemma before me now was too difficult. Things had been hard in the past too, but they weren’t insurmountably high walls like this. Moreover, the lives of thousands of families were on my shoulders. 

I clamped down on my lips.

‘In order to fight him, I have to get to the 8th Circle, and quickly, without fail!’

The 8th Circle wasn’t some random litter you could find on the street, but I felt a pressing need to reach it. Countless magic theories ran through my head, but not a single one of them was the answer to my dilemma. Only one thing could resolve this, and it was 8th Circle magic and the rapid mana development that would accompany the enlightenment. Actually, if I told someone who wasn’t an actual upper-circle magic swordsman that the mana you could imbue in your sword was proportional to your enlightenment in magic, they would probably call me a crazy bastard.

‘Dammit.’

The mana in Altakas’ sword was still vivid in my mind. His outrageous mana had instantly crushed all my mana and physical strength. Thinking of the ridiculous mana that almost ended my life made my chest tighten up.

‘Should I ask the elves for help?’

I wasn’t completely out of options. Elder Parciano alone was an 8th Circle mage, and the other elders were at least at the 7th Circle. If the elves were to help, we would be able to survive this crisis. However, I couldn’t ask them. Elder Parciano had told me in no uncertain terms that the elves could never participate in wars of the human world.

“Sigh…”

His mana wasn’t the only problem. The black dragon bone sword he possessed was also a huge issue. I could tell that his mana and the black dragon bone sword reacted with one another, creating something close to dragon fear.

‘I also need to get a weapon that can rival dragon bone.’

Even a mithril dwarven sword was no match for dragon bone. Altakas’ sword was an item of the highest rank, like a serpent that had cultivated for hundreds of years to turn into a dragon.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“…?”

While I was lost in thought about Altakas, I heard someone banging on the enchanted door of the underground training hall.

‘Has that which will come… finally come?’

The knights here wouldn’t bang on the door for any little thing. With deep breaths, I walked towards the door. I had lived without regrets. Even if my history ended here, there was nothing to fear. 

It was just… it would be a great shame for things to end here.

“Dispel.”

The door was enchanted with Silence and Lock magic. At my incantation, it glowed briefly with a yellow light before opening with a creak.

“My liege!”

Derval’s voice sounded immediately. He was looking at me with a pale face.

“Has Altakas come?”

“No, sir.”

‘It’s not Altakas?’

It wasn’t him, but Derval’s face was ashen white.

“What happened?”

“My liege, s-something terrible has happened.”

“Terrible?”

There were no big issues in the territory other than Altakas, but from his expression, I could tell it was bad.

“A crazy mage has appeared!”

“Crazy mage?”

“We just got a report from the border fort that they are likely an 8th Circle mage.”

“Wh-What?! 8th Circle?!”

Were even the dogs and cows at the 8th Circle these days?! My brain was about to explode from Altakas alone, but yet another 8th Circle mage was apparently flying towards Denfors.

“They said they found out through the detection magic installed in the fort.”

If a mage of the 7th Circle or above approached the fort, the detection magic would automatically activate. People might lie, but a magic array, and one made by elven elders at that, told no lies.

“What are the Skyknights doing?!”

“Well… the mage is flying incredibly fast, so they say they can’t possibly catch up. Sir Cedrian just departed with his flight.”

‘So they really are an 8th Circle mage…’

Even if I cast Fly, I could only go about as fast as a wyvern. If this crazy mage was flying that much faster than a wyvern, it meant they were indeed an 8th Circle mage.

“Issue a battle order to all forces.”

“Understood, my liege!”

‘Alright then, come. I will give you a grand ending!’

Poor Nerman was reduced to being the world’s punching bag. I had no idea where this crazy 8th Circle mage came from, but I decided to fight to the very end.

‘My paradise… this is goodbye.’

It felt like flowers that had bloomed in early spring getting frozen to death by a sudden snowfall.

Seriously, it was just my luck.

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