I Stayed Loyal When My Teacher Was Betrayed

40-Disaster of the Tower 10

“Are you okay?”

“Yes…I’m…okay…”

Bernie talks with a weak voice, her back up against mine. Feeling her face pressed against my back, I thought her injuries were worse than I had anticipated and lifted her up more firmly. In that state, we were all hurrying back to the tower as quickly as possible, along with the other Valkyrie members who had regained consciousness after fainting. However, even though we had achieved victory against that demon king, our mood was not good at all.

“I’m sorry…we were ambushed, but in the end, it didn’t help at all.”

“Geez… could it be that Brunhilde betrayed us like this?”

“Well…we’re not sure yet, are we? Even if she did, there must be a reason behind it. Surely, she wouldn’t do something like that on her own.”

While we only suffered injuries, the Valkyrie members were facing the even more serious problem of a comrade’s betrayal. As it was a betrayal by a lifelong friend, the overall atmosphere was one of disbelief, yet the apparent situation itself caused them great confusion. Three people who fainted and were unable to cope due to

Fortunately, she did not interfere in the battle between me and the Demon Lord. However, right after the battle ended, the Demon Lord escaped and disappeared somewhere.

This sudden betrayal and desertion by Brynhildr, without any hint or warning, further intensified their confusion.

“When exactly did he betray us…?”

“Perhaps it has been a while. Maybe his family has had connections with demons from the beginning…”

“No matter what, we must refrain from making judgments before meeting the person involved. Perhaps he was coerced or threatened? No… if it’s Brynhildr, he will definitely do something like that.”

“…Or maybe, just like Bernie, there was an imposter infiltrating. We returned Bernie, but Brynhildr might still be captured…”

“Yeah… now that I think about it, that could be a possibility.”

Even in such a situation, Miste, who showed unwavering trust towards her friends, and Freya, who presented plausible hypotheses.

Observing them, I uttered a word with the thought that their trust was stronger than I imagined.

“That’s right, regarding this issue, it would be best to hear the story from the person being investigated afterwards. Right now, the most important thing is to head to the tower as quickly as possible. In that regard, Sigurd, you should go first and assess the situation. Consider even the worst-case scenario where the tower has been occupied by demons.”

“Alright, understood.”

With those words, Sigurd vanished into the shadows, blending with them as if he were part of a fairy tale.

Continuing on, we moved again, keeping a certain distance… However, these cautious movements concluded faster than anticipated.

The reason is…

*

“Screaaam!!!”

A demon whose throat was caught, engulfed in flames, disappearing entirely.

Right after extinguishing yet another creature’s life,

Rosemary immediately turned her body towards the back and aimed her staff.

And then…

“Laugh!”

“What… is this?!”

-Kwaang!!

More demons bursting forth right in front of Rosemary.

Looking at her annihilating these creatures who were not ordinary monsters but demons, the faces of the magicians were filled with admiration and astonishment.

“Wow… amazing…”

“She must truly be a Grand Master adventurer. Easily overpowering powerful demons one by one…”

Though they are considered lower-level, demons that even an ordinary magician would struggle against.

Witnessing these creatures being utterly destroyed, it was evident to the magicians just how terrifyingly strong adventurer Rosetta’s power was.

And alongside them, Locaia, who was observing the situation from the side, also felt the same emotions.

‘Impressive… Although I can’t surpass my master… I guess it’s safe to say she’s even better than me.’

Rosetta possessed a tremendous power, surpassing even those who had an incomprehensible amount of potential, although not as much as her teacher.

Under her assistance, the magicians finally mustered enough strength to corner the demons and unleash their magic upon them.

“Shhhh….”

“Teeheehee….”

In the end, the demons were wiped out without being able to withstand any longer.

After striking down the last demon rampaging within the Matar, the magicians breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“Whew…”

“It… It’s over…”

What could have turned into a massive catastrophe was luckily prevented thanks to Rokia’s instructions, resulting in relatively few casualties.

Moreover, Rosetta’s power displayed against the demons helped the magicians stabilize their formation, providing an opportunity to strike the enemies. She continued to assist with decisive blows, crucial for the magicians’ victory.

However, despite the combat ending with minimal loss of life, the damage inflicted upon the Matar was immense.

“Oh no…”

“The library…”

The place where the eruption had begun, the library,

More than half of the books there were burned, and even the remaining ones suffered severe damage, with pages charred and covers torn off.

These weren’t ordinary books but grimoires that couldn’t be obtained through normal means.

Among them were numerous unique texts, some of which hadn’t been transcribed at all.

While celebrating their victory, the magicians now appeared disheartened by the overwhelming impact they had suffered, separate from their triumph.

Meanwhile, silently observing their state,

Rosemary, the former owner of this place, couldn’t help but bite her tongue.

“If only they had listened to me, this wouldn’t have caused such significant damage…”

As the former proprietor of the Matar, Rosemary had repeatedly advocated for creating transcriptions of the library’s books.

However, every time she made such a request, including to the elders and high-ranking magicians, they always opposed it.

Part of the reason was that transcribing work itself was tedious,

But above all, they didn’t want the knowledge in this place to flow outside, as it would diminish the value of the Matar.

And the consequences of their arrogant desire for exclusive knowledge resulted in the irreversible destruction of knowledge, as seen now, causing immense losses.

“If only I had known… we should have followed Rosemary’s intentions…”

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“Goodness… Why did we oppose her so pointlessly then…”

As Rosemary observed the sorcerers late in regret, she began to feel an unwarranted sense of satisfaction.

No matter how much she belonged to this place in the past, from her precise standpoint of forming and severing relationships, there was no need to pay any attention to the damages suffered by this place.

Purely as an outsider, watching their misfortune, Rosemary finally poured out a mixture of regret and sighs as she looked at the sorcerers who were pouring out their regrets. She silently wore a refreshing smile.

At that moment,

“Master!”

Her disciple’s voice reached her ear.

Rosemary recognized the fact that the disciple she had been worrying about constantly was back unharmed, thinking that something might have happened. She put on a joyful smile.

“You’re back? I’m glad you’re safe…”

Immediately after that, Rosemary was captured by a feeling that the emotions in her heart were diminishing slightly.

In her eyes, she could see Edward carrying Bernie on his back, blushing and wearing a pleasant smile.

Bernie, clinging tightly to his back and smiling happily, despite having suffered quite severe injuries.

With a forced smile, Rosemary welcomed back her disciples who had returned unharmed.

“I’m glad you’re okay, but… where is Brunhilde? And what about Bernie’s injuries?”

Despite feeling unpleasant, Rosemary expressed her concerns by questioning her disciples.

Edward and Freya started explaining what had just happened with dark expressions.

The sudden appearance of the Demon King and Brunhilde’s betrayal.

Moreover… Edward’s story of barely repelling them.

All of this entered not only Rosemary’s ears but also the ears of the sorcerers present there.

*

The unexpected attack on the Tower of Demons.

Its aftermath was much larger than anyone could have imagined.

No matter how weakened they were, the fact that the Tower of Demons, located in the center of the Alliance of Races, was attacked out of nowhere and suffered tremendous losses brought immense shock to each country.

Even the Tower, surrounded by a powerful magical barrier, allowed the invaders to infiltrate.

In other words, it meant that there was no safe place anywhere on the continent.

People’s anxieties grew, especially for the lords who held high positions. They felt an even greater sense of danger and began to heighten their vigilance against the demons.

And…

Along with this phenomenon, something else caught people’s attention.

It was the Adventurer’s Guild revealed during the attack on the Tower of Demons…

Exactly speaking, it was about the activities of the Grand Master-level adventurer group, Team Rosetta.