Ch.19Tower War (4)

I arrived at the capital city of the Magical Kingdom, where the Aether Tower is located, less than 20 minutes after taking flight with an uneasy heart.

“I’ll be landing soon.”

“Okay~!”

Irina nodded with a bright smile, clearly excited about something.

As expected of the Magical Kingdom’s capital, an invisible massive barrier was spread out. Within the enormous transparent circular barrier, visible even to the naked eye, I could see an incredibly developed city.

Landing directly above would get me caught in the barrier, so it would be best to land some distance away and walk to the city. I wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost since there was a long path made of blocks of unknown material.

Just as I was lowering myself,

“Hmm?”

Countless magic circles formed above the city’s barrier.

That wasn’t all.

“Wait, is that…”

The anti-aircraft cannons positioned on the towers along the city walls turned toward me and began forming magic circles.

“Hmm…”

It was obvious that the air defense system had activated to intercept me.

‘I didn’t know they had something like this…?!’

I had expected some level of security in an era where airships openly flew designated routes, but I never imagined such a sophisticated air defense system would be in place.

I felt a bit sorry for the people living in the Aether Tower and those protecting this city.

“I guess I shouldn’t fly here next time…”

In the past, flying around wasn’t much of an issue. The sky was arguably one of the safest places to be. When you’re floating in the air, you can’t be attacked with swords, and hitting you with magic is challenging at best.

But things were different now.

Civilization had advanced significantly, with all sorts of machines being developed and deployed.

Airspace is one of the most important elements for any country, so the Magical Kingdom, said to possess the world’s most advanced technology, would naturally have countermeasures in place.

Whiiiiing!

Seeing the anti-aircraft cannons aimed at me and the magic circles forming in the air, I smiled slightly and deployed my Blood Claw Art.

I felt somewhat pleased.

“They say ten years can change mountains and rivers… but a thousand years is truly beyond imagination, Irina.”

“Sister…”

“Don’t worry. You won’t get hurt.”

To be fair, flying openly through a country’s airspace was absurd to begin with.

Well, even so.

If they think they can stop me with something like this, they’re in for trouble.

Ziiing!

Right after I deployed my Blood Claw Art, the anti-aircraft cannons fired lasers.

Laser attacks hit so quickly you’re struck before you can even blink. That’s natural, given they travel at the speed of light.

However,

“That doesn’t even sting.”

I suffered no damage.

After blocking the lasers with the blood I had simply spread out, I looked around and spotted an entrance.

“I should fly to the entrance.”

The most important thing was to go to the entrance and reveal my identity to the guards.

With that in mind, I folded my wings to improve output quality, then explosively released power as I descended.

Magic circles fired interception spells at me as I descended at tremendous speed, but I easily twisted my body to avoid them and landed gracefully at the entrance.

“Well…”

As expected, the entrance was already blocked, and weapons were aimed at Irina and me from the city walls.

“Halt! Halt! Hands up! Move and we’ll shoot!”

“I really shouldn’t have flown here.”

In the Empire, people openly traveled by airship, so I thought it would be fine here too.

This just created unnecessary trouble.

“I am Midir Tepes, Master of the Crimson Blood Magic Tower! I’ve been invited to the Aether Tower!”

“…Wait a moment!”

After hearing my words, one of the soldiers reported to someone, and after a brief moment, shouted back at me.

“Five steps forward for identity verification.”

“Alright, alright.”

How annoying.

Irina followed me with her hands up, but unlike me, who was clearly annoyed, she was grinning as if she found the whole situation amusing.

Is this situation itself enjoyable to her?

They shone something at me, apparently scanning me.

Soon the light faded, and the guard let out a sigh of relief.

“…Your identity has been confirmed. Welcome, Lady Midir Tepes.”

“Thank you.”

“Please follow proper procedures next time, I sincerely request.”

“I will. Sorry for causing extra work.”

“…”

If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have flown here by myself.

“This may seem sudden… but I have an urgent message for you.”

“Hmm?”

“Lady Eterna wishes to meet you in person.”

“What?”

Lady Eterna?

Hearing the words of the man who appeared to be the commander, I smiled inwardly.

I thought the most effective approach would be to meet Eterna, whom magicians worldwide deeply respect.

I’d heard that even ordinary Magic Tower Masters rarely get to have an audience with Eterna, so if she wanted to meet me, things would become much easier.

Though I’m not sure why she wants to meet me.

“I’ll go.”

There was no reason to refuse.

I decided to follow them.

* * *

“Sigh…”

“…The child seems quite attached to you.”

“Indeed… I didn’t expect this…”

Since only I had been summoned, I was the only one granted an audience with Eterna.

Irina couldn’t come with me despite wanting to, as regulations wouldn’t allow it.

Irina was shocked and threw a tantrum when she learned she couldn’t accompany me, but no matter how much she protested, we couldn’t ignore the regulations.

And since it wouldn’t be a good idea to come all this way only to leave without meeting Eterna, I had no choice but to separate from Irina.

The problem was that no matter what I did, she refused to be apart from me.

No promise would satisfy her… As a last resort, I told her I’d let her drink my blood later, but this clever girl immediately demanded I let her drink it right away, shutting down my plan.

I had intended to make an adult-like promise without specifying when I’d fulfill it, so I wouldn’t have to do it right away…

In the end, I had to use Blood Claw Art to finally separate from her.

“Blood Magic… it’s truly remarkable, unlike its reputation…”

“Better late than never to realize that.”

I created another version of myself using my blood to stay with Irina while I went separately to meet Eterna.

As I naturally extracted blood to create my double, the Aether Tower magician watching my magic looked at me with fascination.

“But why…”

“Shh.”

I could easily guess what he was trying to ask.

In this situation, there was only one thing he could be curious about.

“Don’t try to know too much.”

“Y-yes…”

When I warned him, the magician nodded with a sullen expression.

“…We’ve arrived.”

While we were talking, we had reached the room where Eterna was secluded.

I heard she rarely left her room.

What could she be doing in there that keeps her from ever coming out?

‘Maybe she’s browsing forums like me.’

The thought crossed my mind briefly, but I quickly dismissed it as nonsense.

No matter what, someone as remarkable as Eterna, nicknamed the Ancestor of Magic, wouldn’t stay inside just to browse forums.

Creeeeak

As I approached, the massive door slowly began to open.

Other magicians revealed their greedy and curious gazes, as meeting Eterna was considered a lifetime honor, but since I was the only one granted an audience, they could only lick their lips in disappointment before leaving.

As I stepped through the opening door, a vast room with a mystical atmosphere revealed itself.

It felt both spacious and intimate.

Perhaps the space itself was rippling.

Looking around, I saw a mirror-like landscape that resembled both the blue waves of the ocean and an empty blue sky.

I was walking through this fascinating landscape when suddenly I noticed a figure lying on a bed…

…

A bed?

“Snooore…”

As I got closer, I saw a woman with long white hair that reached down to her legs, sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep.

“Well…”

She said she wanted to see me, so I came.

But the person who invited me not only failed to prepare for my arrival but was actually sleeping in bed.

How should one react to that?

“Heh, really…”

It’s beyond absurd—it makes me laugh.

“Should I kill her?”

She wouldn’t die anyway, so should I just hit her with Blood Claw Art?

My fist trembled, but I barely managed to hold back.

This is really fucking annoying.