Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 74

The Fall of the Veritas Magic Tower

1

The Nemesis Imperial Palace.

To address the massive incident that had occurred a few days prior, nobles of the Imperial Capital gathered in the Grand Hall.

‘What on earth is this sudden disaster!’ one exclaimed.

‘Indeed. For a high-ranking demon to be summoned in the Imperial Capital so suddenly!’ another added.

‘What kind of wicked black magician committed such a heinous act!’ a third voice declared.

Most of those who suffered the greatest damage from this chaos were nobles of the Emperor’s faction, particularly the lords who had come from the provinces.

Their interests and properties were concentrated in the northern district of Nemesis.

Moreover, many of their brothers and children served in the Central Army and the Imperial Guard, and there were considerable casualties in this incident.

Naturally, they could not help but condemn the perpetrators.

At that moment, a noble cautiously spoke up.

‘Could the Veritas Magic Tower be the culprit? There are already rumors circulating that they are practicing black magic.’

The Grand Hall fell silent in an instant.

In fact, the nobles were well aware that the magical community was divided over whether the Veritas Magic Tower had delved into black magic, leading to a magic tower war [a conflict between magic factions].

So, as soon as they received information that a high-ranking demon had first appeared at the Veritas Magic Tower headquarters, they immediately pointed to the Veritas Magic Tower as the culprit.

However, they hesitated to accuse them rashly due to their close relationship with the Imperial Family.

Since they had joined forces to suppress the rebellion of the Demon King Seymon 500 years ago, the Royal Family and the Veritas Magic Tower had maintained a close, intimate relationship.

‘But the Veritas Magic Tower suffered the most damage in this incident, so how could they possibly be the culprits?’ one noble questioned.

‘Could it be that they summoned it and failed to control it properly?’ another suggested.

‘Don’t you think it’s possible that someone infiltrated the Veritas Magic Tower and summoned the demon?’ a third proposed.

‘Infiltrate and summon a demon? Is that even possible?’ someone scoffed.

‘I don’t see why not?’ came a reply.

‘I don’t understand why you keep taking the side of the Veritas Magic Tower. Did they bribe you?’ one noble accused.

‘What nonsense…! I just want the truth to be revealed!’ another retorted.

‘Truth? The most certain truth right now is that the wicked demon appeared from the Veritas Magic Tower!’ someone declared.

As opinions became divided and a dispute was about to break out, one of the nobles asked Count Volter, the chamberlain.

‘What is His Majesty’s opinion?’

Emperor Rudolf was not present in the Grand Hall at the moment.

He was refusing audiences with his subjects under the pretext of recovering from his injuries.

‘He said we should wait until the investigation is over,’ Volter replied.

‘Hmm, is that so?’ the noble responded.

In fact, the Emperor must also be in a difficult position.

To immediately name the Veritas Magic Tower as the culprit would be problematic due to their close relationship, but to deny it would be difficult given the immense damage caused by this incident.

If he were to declare that the Veritas Magic Tower was not the culprit without a valid reason, it would provoke a backlash from the nobles who had suffered losses in this incident, and public sentiment would also worsen.

So, he was taking his time to deliberate, using the excuse of an ongoing investigation.

‘More importantly, what happened to that high-ranking demon?’ Marquis Louikas, the Minister of Justice, asked.

He was a bureaucrat noble of the Imperial Capital and one of the leaders of the Emperor’s faction.

‘The Imperial Guard and the Royal Knights chased it to the end, but they lost track of it along the way,’ Volter answered.

At Volter’s answer, the nobles in the Grand Hall sighed.

‘Is there any chance it might reappear?’ one asked.

‘It’s a creature that was thoroughly defeated by His Majesty and fled. Unless it’s determined to die, it won’t come back here,’ another replied confidently.

At first, they did not expect a demon to appear, so their defenses were lax.

But now they would have sufficient defenses, and even if it did reappear, they were confident they could capture and kill it.

No matter how high-ranking a demon it was, it would not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Royal Knights riding on Gigants [large, powerful war machines].

‘Considering it hasn’t appeared so far, could it have returned to the demon realm?’ someone wondered.

‘Huu, if that’s the case, it’s a relief, but…’ another sighed.

While the nobles were engaged in various conversations, a servant entered the Grand Hall and whispered something to Count Volter, handing him an object.

‘What!’ Volter exclaimed, startled, raising his voice involuntarily, and the nobles’ gazes all focused on him.

‘What is the matter?’ Marquis Louikas asked.

At Marquis Louikas’s question, Count Volter, who had a stiff expression, opened his mouth.

‘Just now, a magic video crystal was delivered to the Imperial Palace.’

‘A magic video crystal?’ someone questioned.

A magic video crystal was a type of memory device. When a mage injected mana into it, they could view the video contained within.

It was an expensive and difficult-to-make magical tool that was not commonly used.

But who sent this item, and for what purpose?

‘It seems to contain a rather surprising scene, and I think we should watch it together,’ Volter stated.

Volter summoned an Imperial mage and handed him the magic video crystal.

As the Imperial mage injected mana into the magic video crystal, a video began to project onto one of the walls of the Grand Hall.

The nobles who watched the video were all shocked, and then they erupted in fierce anger.

‘How could this be!’ one shouted.

‘We must immediately wipe out all these wicked people!’ another declared.

‘That’s right! How dare they try to deceive the world, they must never be forgiven!’ a third voice added.

Some of the more hot-tempered nobles drew their swords and tried to rush out.

Thanks to this, Volter had to sweat profusely for a while to calm them down.

2

‘Your Majesty, we did not do this! There is no one in our magic tower who has learned demon summoning magic, let alone the summoning circle itself! Please believe us!’

Emperor Rudolf, who had refused audiences with his subjects under the pretext of recovering from his injuries, was currently facing one person in his office.

The person vehemently pleading before him was Meister Albert of the Veritas Magic Tower.

He had been visiting since two days ago, trying to explain the incident that had occurred a few days prior.

‘Are you truly saying that it was not your doing?’ Rudolf asked.

‘Yes, please believe us!’ Albert pleaded.

‘Hmph, believe what should be believed,’ Rudolf scoffed inwardly.

Emperor Rudolf was well aware that the Veritas Magic Tower had snatched the ancient black magic grimoire [a book of spells], the legacy of the Demon King Seymon.

Through that black magic grimoire, Arsen had become a lich [an undead sorcerer], and the past Meisters and Elders of the Veritas Magic Tower had learned various black magic spells.

‘And yet, they say there is no one who has learned the demon summoning circle? What a brazen bunch!’ he thought.

As he glared at him with a cold gaze, Albert let out a deep sigh.

‘Then, what kind of sincerity would you like us to show to believe in our innocence?’ Albert asked.

Albert knew that Emperor Rudolf would not declare the Veritas Magic Tower as the culprit of this incident.

After all, it would be a loss for the Imperial Empire as well.

Nevertheless, he knew that his cold attitude was to demand a price.

‘Haa, our magic tower will suffer greatly from this incident. Just who on earth committed such an act?’ Albert lamented.

If he could find the perpetrator, he vowed to turn them into an undead and inflict eternal suffering upon them.

‘Hehe. To get through this, we will have to offer quite valuable things,’ Rudolf thought, considering the most precious and valuable assets of the Veritas Magic Tower.

As Rudolf was about to open his mouth, the office door suddenly burst open and Count Volter entered.

He looked startled at the sight of Albert, but soon spoke to the Emperor.

‘Your Majesty, a great disaster has occurred!’

‘What great disaster are you talking about?’ Rudolf asked.

‘Just now, someone delivered a magic video crystal to the Imperial Palace, and it contains a video of summoning a high-ranking demon,’ Volter explained.

‘What!’ Rudolf exclaimed, startled, jumping up from his seat. He had been analyzing who the culprit of this incident was.

In fact, he did not think that the Veritas Magic Tower was the culprit.

However, it was possible that one of the Elders of the Veritas Magic Tower, who had been pushed out in the internal power struggle, had committed the act out of resentment, so he could not completely rule out the suspicion.

‘Who is the culprit?’ Rudolf demanded.

‘Th, that is…’ Volter hesitated, looking at Albert.

Rudolf waved his hand. ‘It’s alright, speak quickly.’

‘Yes, the video shows the mages summoning the high-ranking demon, and according to the confirmation, they were definitely members of the Veritas Magic Tower,’ Volter stated.

‘Th, this is a frame-up!’ Albert shouted, jumping up, and Volter held out the magic video crystal.

‘See for yourself,’ Volter said.

Albert immediately injected mana into the magic video crystal.

Then, a video began to project on one side of the office wall.

The video showed everything from the preliminary work to prepare the demon summoning circle, to the work of drawing the demon summoning circle on the floor, to the scene of casting the spell and directly summoning the high-ranking demon.

After confirming all of this, Albert swallowed hard.

One of the two mages in the video was familiar to him.

‘H, how could that guy…!’ Albert exclaimed.

‘The name of that young mage is Fabian Azar. He has won an award at the previous Imperial Capital Magic Competition,’ Volter said.

As Volter said, Fabian was a promising new mage who had distinguished himself in the Veritas Magic Tower.

He had outstanding talent for magic and had reached the 5th Circle [a level of magical proficiency] at a young age, but because of his humble origins and poverty, he was not given a prominent position and was only assigned to menial tasks in the magic tower.

Still, he had never shown any dissatisfaction, so Albert had considered giving him a position.

Of course, that position went to a mage from a noble family whose father had offered a hefty bribe.

‘Could it be that he held a grudge over that and did this…?’ Albert wondered.

However, it was questionable how Fabian could have learned black magic and how he could have summoned a high-ranking demon.

Black magic was strictly controlled within the magic tower.

‘Then, is the guy with Fabian the culprit?’ Albert thought.

The problem was that the person considered to be the culprit was wearing a hood that was pulled down deep, making it impossible to recognize his face.

What was even more frustrating was that Fabian and the culprit were wearing robes with the Veritas Magic Tower’s emblem embroidered on them.

How could they possibly deny it now!

‘Th, this is a conspiracy! We must immediately capture them and find out who is behind this!’ Albert declared.

At Albert’s words, Rudolf nodded.

He knew that one had to be at least an Elder to learn black magic in the Veritas Magic Tower.

And even if that wasn’t the case, this magic video seemed very artificial.

‘What kind of crazy black magician would leave behind such a criminal record? Moreover, in a situation where the demon summoning had turned everything into chaos, would it have been possible to recover the record?’ Rudolf thought.

As Rudolf was thinking this, Volter uttered something shocking.

‘Now is not the time to talk about conspiracies or masterminds. According to the report from the intelligence department just now, crystals that have copied this video are now circulating throughout the Imperial Capital,’ Volter stated.

‘Kuh! Th, that can’t be!’ Albert exclaimed, an expression of shock appearing on his face.

Anyone who saw this video would undoubtedly believe that the Veritas Magic Tower had summoned the demon, without considering the circumstances.

‘Y, Your Majesty. I will visit you again next time,’ Albert said hastily, bidding farewell, and hurried out of the office.

It was unclear whether he was trying to find and punish those who appeared in the magic video, or whether he was trying to recover the magic videos that were being spread throughout the Imperial Capital.

In any case, Rudolf’s interest was now elsewhere.

‘Count Volter, what do you think I should do?’ Rudolf asked.

At Rudolf’s question, Volter thought for a moment and then stated his opinion.

‘It seems we should abandon the Veritas Magic Tower now,’ Volter said.

‘Why?’ Rudolf asked.

‘Now that the magic video has been circulated, rumors will spread quickly not only among the citizens of the Empire but also to other countries. If we try to protect them, Your Majesty and the Imperial Family may also be disgraced. And…’ Volter paused.

‘And?’ Rudolf prompted.

‘While we are getting rid of the Veritas Magic Tower, let’s seize the assets of the magic tower,’ Volter suggested.

The Veritas Magic Tower, along with the Artenia Imperial Magic Tower, had reigned as the two major magic towers on the continent.

They must have accumulated a tremendous amount of wealth and secrets over the past hundreds of years.

‘If we take that over, we can raise the Baroque Imperial Magic Tower to become the second major magic tower on the continent, replacing the Veritas Magic Tower,’ Volter explained.

‘Hmm, it is tempting…’ Rudolf mused.

Rudolf had also thought that the day would come when he would be hostile to the Veritas Magic Tower because of Arsen’s ambition.

However, he had been pretending not to know because he still needed the power of the Veritas Magic Tower, but now it seemed that he could no longer avoid it.

‘The problem is Arsen. As long as that monster who cannot be killed is behind it, if we raid the Veritas Magic Tower, there will be endless repercussions…’

As Rudolf hesitated, unable to make a quick decision, Volter urged him to act decisively.

‘Your Majesty, if we leave them as they are, there’s a high chance the noble faction will denounce the Imperial Family for colluding with dark mages. Therefore, we must swiftly dispose of them.’

Those words further swayed Rudolf’s heart.

On one hand, he was also angry at his own weakness for being so mindful of Arsen.

‘What is there to worry about that monster’s repercussions? I am the Sword Emperor now! Even if he appears, I’ll just cut him down.’

Having made up his mind, Rudolf issued an order to Volter.

‘Understood. Immediately mobilize the Central Army and the Imperial Knights to surround the Veritas Magic Tower. Announce their crimes to the world and arrest the mages of the tower!’

Although the Meister [Master] and Elders had learned dark magic, the power of the Imperial Knights and the Central Army was more than enough to subdue them.

Moreover, the Veritas Magic Tower had already suffered tremendous damage from the attack of the high-ranking demons.

Having made up his mind, Rudolf decided to finish things quickly.

3

‘Leave this place immediately!’

Alber’s urgent shout upon returning to the Veritas Magic Tower caused the mages, who were in the midst of restoration work, to ask in bewilderment.

‘What’s going on?’

‘Hurry and pack your belongings! If you dawdle, you’ll all be swept away by the Emperor’s lackeys!’

Alber, having dealt with the Imperial Family and nobles for a long time, knew the nature of power well.

They would act like the best of friends if there was something to gain, but if they thought you might cause them even the slightest harm, they would coldly discard you.

In front of such people, shouting that this incident was someone’s conspiracy would be useless.

‘Rather, they’ll be thinking of using this opportunity to take a bite out of our tower!’

Alber quickly gathered the Elders and issued instructions.

‘Elder Belmond, go to the library and collect the magic books and research materials classified as top-tier and first-tier. Burn everything that cannot be taken. And you…’

The most important assets to secure were the tower’s treasures and its personnel.

With just those, the Veritas Magic Tower could recover at any time.

Of course, they wouldn’t be able to show the name of Veritas to the world for a while.

After finishing his instructions to the Elders, Alber gathered the remaining mages, tower mercenaries, and staff.

‘You all are to go to the Hilt Valley, located west of Veritas Town.’

‘Hilt Valley? Isn’t that where trash and waste are dumped?’

‘That’s right. But there’s an emergency teleportation magic circle built there.’

The word ‘escape’ caused a great commotion and murmuring among them.

There had already been much talk about the identity of the monsters that had appeared a few days ago. The tower’s leaders had kept it quiet, but rumors were spreading so much that you could hear all sorts of things just by going out into the Imperial City.

‘Was our tower really practicing dark magic?’

‘Damn it, we stepped in shit.’

The mages’ faces turned pale.

Some thought they had been deceived by the leaders.

However, even if the situation had become urgent, they couldn’t arbitrarily leave the tower.

‘Hurry up! Or you’ll never see the light of day again!’

At Alber’s urging, everyone hurriedly packed their bags and ran towards Hilt Valley.

Their numbers exceeded 1,000.

This large-scale movement of theirs was soon noticed by the subjugation force that had been dispatched.

The commander of the subjugation force, consisting of the Central Army and the Imperial Knights, was Count Ferrero.

Ferrero, having observed the mages’ movements with a telescopic artifact, tilted his head.

‘I expected them to flee, but why are they all gathering in one place instead of scattering?’

‘I’ve heard that each magic tower has an escape route for emergencies. The Veritas Magic Tower must be the same. There’s probably something prepared in the west where they’re gathering.’

Ferrero nodded, finding his adjutant’s answer reasonable.

‘I will divide the troops into two. The left wing will be led by the adjutant to pursue the fleeing ones, and the right wing will surround the tower with me. We must not let a single straggler escape, understood?’

‘Yes, sir!’

Ferrero stopped his adjutant, who was about to leave after saluting, and added,

‘I’m telling you in advance to be careful. If by any chance they summon demons, we will suffer great losses again.’

‘I will keep that in mind.’

The subjugation force, divided into left and right wings, began to move in earnest.

The mages, who were fleeing towards Hilt Valley, were startled when the Gigant unit [large, heavily armored soldiers] and the knights led by Ferrero’s adjutant appeared.

‘T-The subjugation force!’

‘They’ve come to capture us.’

‘Hurry and run away!’

Fleeing from the pursuing left wing, the mages, mercenaries, and workers hurriedly ran towards Hilt Valley.

They firmly believed the Meister’s words that they could escape if they went there.

However, how far could they go by walking or at best riding in carts?

In the end, they were caught by the left wing and had to face the merciless blades of the subjugation force’s knights.

‘Kill all the dark mages!’

‘I, I am not a dark mage!’

‘Shut up! Do you think we’ll fall for such lies?’

The knights of the subjugation force swung their spears and swords without mercy.

The riders were even worse. They trampled them with their Gigants and brought down their greatswords.

Many of those who had set out to subjugate had fought against the demons before. Having seen their comrades die or get injured, they had a strong animosity towards the Veritas Magic Tower, the supposed source of the problem.

And even if that wasn’t the issue, there were many who had been dissatisfied with the arrogant Veritas Magic Tower from the past.

‘Quickly, find the teleportation magic circle!’

‘If you don’t want to die, search every nook and cranny!’

Those who had arrived at Hilt Valley first, fleeing from the ruthless subjugation force, searched for a place where the magic circle might be.

However, despite their desperate efforts to survive, they found neither a teleportation magic circle nor even a single scrap of a cheap scroll.

All that was in the valley were rusty scrap metal, puddles of discarded reagents, and completely useless trash.

‘It’s not here! It’s nowhere!’

‘Could it be that the Meister used us as bait…’

Those words, which slipped out of someone’s mouth, were the final blow.

The mages, mercenaries, and staff, who had been desperately searching the valley until just now, collapsed powerlessly.

Behind them, the spears and swords of the subjugation force, which had chased them into the valley, gleamed menacingly.

Alber, having climbed to the highest building in the ruined tower, was looking down at the approaching subjugation force.

He had hoped that the ‘scraps’ he had sent out as bait would be caught, but the commander of the subjugation force was not a fool, as he had divided his troops.

The only fortunate thing was that, unlike the ones who had run to Hilt Valley, the subjugation force approaching the tower was moving quite cautiously, having established a siege.

‘I know what they’re worried about.’

Every time a light flashed inside the tower, the subjugation force surrounding the tower would flinch and stop.

They probably thought that they were summoning demons, but in reality, the light was caused by the high-ranking personnel who had secured the tower’s assets and treasures tearing long-distance teleportation scrolls.

‘Should I just summon a real demon since it has come to this?’

Considering the Imperial Family’s betrayal of their 500-year friendship, he really wanted to do so.

If he scraped together the remaining materials in the tower, he could probably summon a mid-level demon.

However, now was not the time to delay.

Moreover, if he summoned a real demon in a fit of anger, he would undoubtedly become the culprit of this incident.

‘It’s frustrating, but retreating as it is now is the best option.’

That way, in the future, history could sympathize with them, calling them ‘a tower that fell due to the foolish Imperial Family and nobles who were deceived by someone’s conspiracy.’

That would make it easier to recover.

‘Master, hurry. The subjugation force has entered the tower!’

One of his disciples urgently came to report.

Even without that, Alber could see the subjugation force entering. The Gigants were leading the way, clearing the path through the collapsed debris.

‘What about the magic books and research materials? Have all the tower’s treasures been secured?’

‘Yes, the Elders have secured them and left first.’

‘Have all the high-ranking mages and their disciples escaped?’

‘Yes, only you and I are left, Master.’

‘Then we should leave now too.’

Alber looked around the tower one last time.

There was hardly any place left intact due to Kauren’s rampage.

Still, for Alber, who was born and raised here and had risen to the position of Meister, it was hard to give up.

‘I will return. Someday… I will, without fail!’

After making a vow in his heart, Alber raised his hand high.

Kwaaang! Puh-uh-uh-uhng!

‘F-Fire!’

‘Everyone, step back!’

The entire tower was engulfed in flames by the Volcanic Explosion magic that Alber had unleashed.

While the surprised subjugation force retreated, Alber disappeared with his disciple.

The Veritas Magic Tower, which had reigned as one of the two major magic towers on the continent for a long time and had led the Magic Alliance, disappeared in an instant due to an unexpected situation.

This incident had a tremendous impact on the continent’s magic world.

The Magic Alliance, which had been gaining an advantage in the Magic Tower War, suffered a huge blow not only in terms of power due to the disappearance of the Veritas Magic Tower, but also in terms of justification, as Emperor Rudolf declared that the Veritas Magic Tower was the culprit for summoning demons.

With this, the Magic Tower War effectively came to an end.

However, the reformists could not rejoice in their victory. The entire magic world had suffered considerable damage due to the conflict between the two major forces.

This would have a significant impact on the future political situation of the continent.

4

In the pyramid located on Thanatos Island in the Hell Archipelago.

Arsen, who had been focusing on the Great Resurrection Ritual, was shocked by the report and jumped up from his seat.

‘W-What! The Veritas… Magic Tower… is… destroyed?’

‘It is all due to the incompetence of my descendants who failed to manage it properly, so please punish me.’

Nesta, the former Meister who had delivered the report, prostrated himself and begged for forgiveness.

Having served Arsen for a long time, he knew how much he cherished the tower.

After all, wasn’t the reason he became a lich [an undead sorcerer] for the sake of the Veritas Magic Tower?

And yet, such a terrible thing had happened!

Arsen, trembling with anger to the point where his bones were creaking, barely calmed his excitement and spoke again.

‘How… in… the… world… did… it… come… to… this?’

‘That is…’

Nesta recounted the story he had heard from Alber.

After hearing the whole story, Arsen looked dumbfounded.

‘A… high-ranking… demon… popped… out… inside… the… tower… headquarters… and… they… were… branded… as… a… den… of… dark… mages! Who… in… the… world… committed… such… a… foolish… act!’

‘Well, that… After Alber investigated, it was confirmed that a 5th-circle novice mage named Fabian was involved, but the culprit is unknown.’

According to Alber’s investigation, none of the Elders or high-ranking mages who had learned dark magic had shown any suspicious or unclear behavior.

They were all carrying out their respective duties at the time the demon summoning occurred.

‘Keh! Then… it… was… an… external… act? Who… in… the… world… dares!’

Killing intent burst from Arsen’s eyes.

‘Kuh!’

Nesta trembled all over as he felt the killing intent.

The killing intent was so intense that even he, who had reached the level of looking at the 9th circle of dark magic, could not withstand it.

‘Who in the world is behind this? It’s impossible to summon a high-ranking demon with ordinary skills. If it wasn’t an internal act, there are only a few who could do such a thing… Could it be the work of those Dark Moon bastards?’

After all, Seymon’s lackeys would be capable enough.

Besides that, it could be the work of the remnants of the ten major magic towers that he had destroyed.

They might have turned to forbidden magic out of resentment.

‘Kuh! It doesn’t matter who did it. I will track them all down and retaliate tenfold… no, twentyfold!’

The only fortunate thing was that they had salvaged the valuable assets of the Veritas Magic Tower.

Alber was currently on his way here with those assets, and with them, rebuilding the Veritas Magic Tower would be a piece of cake.

‘Ancestor, according to Alber, Emperor Rudolf’s betrayal was the decisive factor in the tower’s destruction. Shouldn’t we punish him as well?’

‘Keh. Of… course… we… must… punish… him. I… have… prepared… something… for… times… like… this. I… will… clearly… show… the… world… what… happens… when… you… betray… the… Veritas… Magic… Tower.’

In his heart, he wanted to go directly to Nemesis, kill the Emperor, and overturn the Imperial Palace.

However, Arsen had to oversee the Great Resurrection Ritual, which was now in its final stages. If he left his post and something went wrong, it would be a regret for eternity.

Of course, he couldn’t just let it go like this.

Arsen had set up a scheme in the Imperial Family for such a case.

It had been prepared a long time ago, so no one in the current Imperial Family knew about it.

Therefore, if he sent one of the Guardians to activate it, he could easily punish Rudolf.

‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Rudolf, I will make tears of blood pour from your eyes!’

A terrifying light flashed from Arsen’s empty eyes as he looked towards the north, where the Imperial City of Nemesis was located.