Chapter 112

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Chapter 112: The Mage of Ashes (2)

Clink.

“……”

Oscar lowered his gaze to the bracelet fastened around his left wrist.

Then, he stared intently at Lloyd, his expression clearly asking, What’s with this tasteless thing?

“It’s handcuffs,”

Lloyd replied nonchalantly, meeting his gaze.

“They track your location and mana usage, and can also restrict your magic.”

“What the hell…”

Why would anyone put something like this on him?

As Oscar glared at him in disbelief, Lloyd responded with genuine curiosity.

“Why that reaction? Do you not realize you’re a hostage?”

“I didn’t expect to be treated like a criminal, though.”

“To me, you’re no different from someone who might run off and report to the imperial family at any moment.”

With that indifferent remark, Lloyd entered his massive tent.

Oscar followed him inside, taking a moment to survey the stark interior.

It was a far cry from the room he remembered from their childhood.

Perhaps it was Oscar’s wistful gaze that annoyed him, as Lloyd frowned.

“There’s nothing worth staring at. Why so fixated?”

“It’s just… more barren than I expected. I thought there’d at least be a flower or two, given your magic is related to them.”

Lloyd was a mage of a unique discipline.

He possessed the power of “Blooming Eternity”—capable of reviving any flower he had ever seen.

‘Because of that ability, his room was once filled with vibrant flowers of every kind.’

Even the greenhouse on the tenth floor, bursting with colors, had been his doing.

While other kids were obsessed with ancient creatures, Lloyd was simply enamored with flowers.

He was so meticulous about them that one might think he aspired to be a floral designer rather than a mage.

But now, as a somber 30-year-old adult, Lloyd shook his head firmly.

“That’s a misconception. I don’t like things that wither quickly—flowers, promises, that sort of thing.”

“……”

This promise-obsessed man claims to dislike promises?

Was it his fault?

While Oscar hesitated over what to say, Lloyd rolled back a large rug on the floor.

Beneath it was a door made of thick steel.

“The lab is this way.”

With a snap of Lloyd’s fingers, the heavy door creaked open.

He gestured with a tilt of his chin.

“Go down.”

“……”

Descending the stairs in silence, Oscar was taken aback by the unexpectedly spacious room.

“Did you create this place specifically for seed research?”

“It’s a repurposed space that previous occupants used as a vault.”

As he examined the room, Oscar noticed another door and asked,

“What’s behind that door?”

“You don’t need to know. And don’t open it—no matter what.”

His expression brooked no argument or further questions.

Oscar nodded and began listing the materials he needed.

“A large pot, flasks of various sizes, a precision scale… and holy water, too.”

“Anything else? You might also need mana isolation devices or detection lenses.”

“For that…”

Clink.

Oscar raised his left arm.

“If you let me use magic, I can handle it myself.”

“……”

Lloyd nodded slightly at Oscar’s confident demeanor.

“I’ll have the equipment delivered within 30 minutes.”

* * *

Oscar’s daily routine was simple.

As long as he spent about 15 hours researching, the rest of the time was his to use as he pleased.

In his free time, he meditated, took walks, and ate meals.

‘Honestly, being taken hostage by my own student felt absurd and humiliating at first…’

But now, it wasn’t all bad.

In fact, he even saw some upsides.

One of the things that had piqued his curiosity was the concept of demons.

In the past, such an idea simply didn’t exist.

‘To be more precise, it wasn’t that they didn’t exist—they couldn’t exist.’

Humans couldn’t harbor demonic energy.

It was lethal poison to them.

‘Mana and demonic energy are fundamentally incompatible.’

Like oil and water, they couldn’t mix.

Yet somehow, these people had managed to make the impossible possible.

‘They used that tempting bait to manipulate lunatics like the Black Fingers.’

From the beginning, Oscar had been skeptical of the seeds.

He suspected they were merely a ruse, believing the effects of demonic energy to be delayed, not eliminated.

‘But I was wrong.’

Surprisingly, the seed’s mechanism was simple:

If oil couldn’t mix with water, they’d just eliminate the water entirely.

‘When consumed, the seed transforms all the user’s mana into demonic energy.’

As he reviewed Lloyd’s records of biological experiments, Oscar explained:

“This report says some orcs died after failing to process the seed. My guess is that they couldn’t withstand the transformation of their mana into demonic energy.”

“Hmm. Then is there a way to artificially intervene and increase the success rate?”

“Not that I know of. If it were possible, you’d be a god.”

Lloyd nodded thoughtfully before murmuring,

“...Remarkable.”

“Yes, the idea of removing mana entirely—truly diabolical.”

“I wasn’t talking about the seeds. I meant your alchemy.”

Lloyd was impressed by Oscar’s profound knowledge of alchemy.

“How did you manage to acquire this level of expertise at your age?”

“By studying textbooks.”

“What nonsense.”

Over the past few days, they’d grown somewhat closer.

At least, Lloyd no longer ignored Oscar’s attempts at humor.

‘By now, I think it’s safe to ask.’

Oscar, after a moment of deliberation, opened the conversation as if in passing.

“I met with the Tower Master right before coming here.”

“Is that so.”

What followed was an oppressively heavy silence.

After a while, Lloyd let out a cold sneer.

“Doesn’t seem like you got the reaction you were hoping for.”

“Yes, to be honest, there’s something I’m curious about. May I ask?”

“Ask, and I’ll decide if it’s worth answering.”

“When I told the Tower Master I was coming to meet you, she looked utterly horrified. When I asked what your relationship was, she scolded me harshly. Told me never to even mention the existence of mentors or senior disciples in front of her.”

Lloyd, wearing an expression that was hard to read, nodded slowly.

“I can imagine.”

“Let me ask bluntly—are you two on bad terms?”

“Of course. Do you really think we’d be on good terms? I…”

“Because you betrayed the White Tower?”

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Betrayal.

That word clearly rubbed Lloyd the wrong way.

His eyebrow twitched once, and he stared at Oscar for a moment before nodding.

“That’s right. I betrayed the White Tower.”

“Why did you betray them?”

Lloyd sneered again before speaking.

“Why, you ask? Are you asking why I became a disciple of the Red Tower Master?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know what kind of answer you’re expecting, but there’s no grand reason. Simply put, it was the more rational choice.”

A rational choice—hard to argue with that.

The White Tower, which was fading into obscurity, and the Red Tower, burning brighter than ever.

Given the choice, most people would pick the Red Tower without hesitation.

‘…It’s exactly the kind of answer he’d give.’

Lloyd had always been someone who valued efficiency above all else.

As Oscar failed to hide a bitter smile, Lloyd checked the time and stood up.

“That’s enough for today.”

“You seem to be spending less and less time on research. Is something happening outside?”

Lloyd hesitated briefly before nodding.

“The orcs are gathering. A massive army, larger than anything seen in the last 30 years.”

“Thirty years… Do you have any idea why?”

“Normally, I’d just think a great leader had emerged and leave it at that.”

Lloyd glanced at the seed lying on the table.

“But now, I can’t think that way.”

“You suspect that the orc leader also possesses a seed?”

“It’s not a suspicion—it’s a certainty. I obtained these seeds by killing high-ranking orc leaders.”

Was the shrinking time for research a result of the increasing need to monitor the frontlines?

Oscar asked,

“When do you think the battle will start?”

“Soon. At most, two weeks.”

Lloyd’s indifferent gaze turned toward Oscar.

“I’ll make sure you leave before then, so don’t worry. But you’ll have to swear on the oath parchment first.”

“…”

Truly, he lacked any sense of warmth to the very end.

* * *

Afternoon, after lunch.

Oscar, taking a walk to digest his meal, suddenly heard shouting.

“Don’t run your mouth just because you’ve got a tongue.”

“Oh? Did I say something wrong?”

As he approached the crowd that had gathered, he saw soldiers split into two opposing groups.

Oscar nodded to himself.

‘Factional strife.’

It was obvious—one side consisted of mages, while the other was knights.

At the forefront, a knight standing nearly two meters tall was glaring down at a mage.

“Bet you lot in the ashes are relieved our captain went missing. Got yourselves the commander’s seat without lifting a finger, huh? Or was the whole disappearance just a lie?”

“…Are you insulting the honor of the Red Tower?”

“Honor? Funny you’d mention that when you didn’t even organize a search party for your missing commander. Don’t see the orcs gathering outside, do you?”

The hostility was palpable.

‘So the original commander, a knight, went missing during a mission.’

After that, the orcs began gathering, leaving no room to organize a search party.

The tension between the factions only deepened.

Then, unable to hold back his anger, the knight crossed the line.

“Pfft! You fake mages are all the same.”

“…”

The mage from the Red Tower, his face spat on, closed his eyes.

At a glance, it seemed like he was trying to suppress his emotions, but it was just a moment to prepare himself.

When he opened his eyes again, a chilling killing intent was evident in his gaze.

The air grew heavy, and fiery magic began to swirl, contrasting the coldness in his eyes.

Just then—

“Cease, all of you.”

“…!”

“…!”

With Lloyd’s voice, the raging magic disappeared like a lie.

Demonstrating the authority of a 7th-level high mage, he gave a dry command.

“Disperse. Return to your posts.”

“…Understood.”

“Tch.”

No additional punishment followed.

It seemed Lloyd judged that lowering morale on the brink of war would be inefficient.

“…”

But to Oscar, the situation looked dire.

The rift between the two factions seemed irreparable.

‘It’s like a ticking time bomb.’

A bomb that might explode in the middle of a battlefield.

As Oscar wrestled with unease, a week passed in the blink of an eye.

The research on the seed had also reached its final phase.

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