Ch.69Decisive Battle (4)

The battle between the Red Tower Master and the Black Tower Master always ended with the Black Tower Master’s defeat.

This was partly due to elemental advantage, but also because Ignius, the Red Tower Master, was not only talented but also put in tremendous effort compared to the Black Tower Master.

The Black Tower Master knew this fact well.

Though they belonged to different towers, the two friends often sparred with each other.

Perhaps the Black Tower Master himself had some influence on Ignius becoming a battle maniac, but that wasn’t really his concern.

At some point, his goal had become to defeat Ignius.

It was a childish goal from his youth, and now it had somewhat transformed into publicly crushing Ignius’s pride under the guise of helping his friend. Nevertheless, it could be considered the Black Tower Master’s long-standing goal of looking after his friend who had been insufferably arrogant since childhood.

And what he considered most dangerous was none other than Hellfire, developed by Ignius.

Hellfire was powerful.

Its description of “burning everything” was literal—it could even burn his shadow magic.

Imagine someone with the power to instantly annihilate any attack without leaving a trace.

How would you defeat such a person?

One could be certain that a direct approach would not be easy.

Especially with an elemental disadvantage, the Black Tower Master’s victory over the Red Tower Master seemed like a distant dream.

However, one fact people often overlooked was that those who reached the pinnacle of their field, enough to become Tower Masters, naturally prepared countermeasures for the most basic concept of “elemental advantage.”

This was only natural.

Who would continue to leave vulnerabilities in the discipline they teach and research?

Somehow researching and eliminating those weaknesses was their long-term goal.

The Black Tower Master was no exception, and fortunately, this aligned with his objectives.

The Black Tower Master worked hard.

He worked hard again and again.

Therefore…

“Huh?!”

Magic flew toward a man but disappeared as if it had never existed, unable to leave the arena.

“Pfft! Why are you surprised? Did you think magic would hit you?”

“W-well, I could be surprised!”

The hologram was so realistic that it was perfectly reasonable to be startled.

Thanks to Eterna’s unique protective magic and the space-expanding magical device in the practice arena, spectators didn’t need to worry about getting caught in magical crossfire.

This allowed them to focus on the match safely, regardless of flying spells.

“What a total coward, isn’t he?”

“Shut up!”

“Just watch the match, will you?”

“This bastard… after you’re the one who brought it up…?”

While the two were engaged in their friendly banter, the match continued.

“W-what…?”

“Isn’t shadow magic supposed to weaken in light?!”

The surprised voices of mages echoed throughout the arena.

Shadow magic, primarily used by umbramancers, is fundamentally weakened when exposed to light.

And since flame mages and red mages mainly use fire magic, most mages believe that black mages can’t even put up a fight against red mages.

However…

“You’re fighting well. Have your skills improved since last time?”

“…”

Ignius said with a smile.

The Black Tower Master silently manipulated his shadows.

He floated a dark mist above his shadows to block the light, minimizing light’s influence on his shadow magic.

It was an incredible technique that ordinary people wouldn’t even dare attempt.

“I haven’t survived this long on style alone.”

“What are you saying? You’re not even that old.”

“Hmm.”

Shadow magic immune to light shot across the floor toward Ignius.

Normally, it would have been too fast to react to, but Ignius dodged by flying upward as if it were expected.

As Ignius avoided the shadow magic that surged skyward after him, he cast a spell to break the Black Tower Master’s concentration.

As Ignius maneuvered through the air and activated his magic, dozens of small magic circles formed around him, launching fireballs toward the Black Tower Master.

Seeing the fireballs flying toward him, the Black Tower Master stopped moving his shadows and formed an extremely thin shadow in midair.

The fireballs, being merely Hellfire, had no explosive power.

They simply burned whatever they touched to ashes.

Knowing this, the Black Tower Master extracted maximum efficiency with minimal magical power.

He covered the fireballs with an ultra-thin shadow barrier, then exposed the shadow to light, making it dissipate.

Eventually, he spread the shadow that had scattered like ink widely across the floor, blocking the surface to prevent light from reaching it.

“There’s nowhere to escape.”

In less than a second.

Shadow hands erupted from the arena floor, blocking all escape routes for Ignius who was still floating in midair, and rushed toward him instantly.

There was nowhere to dodge.

“Lord Ignius?!”

“I-is he going to lose?!”

There wasn’t enough time to cast a spell.

Since everything happened in such a short time, it took the spectators a while to grasp the situation.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The shadow hands completely enveloped Ignius.

“L-Lord Ignius…”

“Come on, he wouldn’t lose that easily.”

Everyone was sweating nervously despite their doubts.

“Yeah! How do you Average Reds like that?!”

“Long live the Black Tower Master!!”

“Wow, is this really happening?! Is the Black Tower Master a god?!”

Meanwhile, the Black Tower was in a festive mood.

They hadn’t actually expected to win, so seeing such a close match was exhilarating for them.

However…

“Uh, that’s…”

“Hellfire!”

Fire began to bloom around the hands surrounding Ignius, then exploded without leaving a trace.

From within emerged an unharmed Ignius, giggling as he addressed the Black Tower Master.

“Did you really think you could win with something like that? That’s not like you.”

“…Not at all.”

“…You’re no fun.”

Ignius clicked his tongue in disappointment as he descended to the ground.

Until now had just been a warm-up.

After that, the match became one-sided.

Whenever shadows spread from the Black Tower Master to obscure vision, Ignius would unleash Hellfire and burn the shadows themselves.

A powerful flame that could even burn shadows.

Ignius, the grand mage of flames, controlled fire that seemed to transcend physical laws.

The Black Tower Master looked at Ignius with an expression that suggested he had expected this.

Ignius also looked at the Black Tower Master with an arrogant expression that seemed to ask what he would do now.

“Ignius.”

“What?”

“What is demonic energy? Do you understand its nature?”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

Ignius tilted his head and asked.

Since this wasn’t the kind of conversation one would expect during a duel, the mages who had been focused on the match also tilted their heads, wondering what the Black Tower Master was talking about.

Since he rarely spoke, when he did say something, it could be considered important.

In response to Ignius’s question, the Black Tower Master nodded and said:

“Demonic energy is often known to be evil, but it’s merely one form of magical power that exists in this world. More precisely, it’s the form magical power takes in the demon realm.”

“I thought you were going to say something important… so what?”

“That means the nature of demonic energy is also part of magical power… isn’t it?”

“…”

Ignius’s expression hardened at those words.

The nature of demonic energy is also part of the nature of magical power.

Ignius instinctively understood.

Eventually…

“You don’t mean…”

A smile gradually spread across Ignius’s face.

He figured it out.

He had completely figured it out.

The Black Tower Master…

He had developed a new technique that Ignius knew nothing about.

Whoosh!

A flame made of pure black rose and spread around the Black Tower Master.

It began to press down on the rising Hellfire, starting a power struggle.

“W-what is that?!”

“Black… flames…?”

“Since when does a shadow mage use fire?!”

Flames are the exclusive domain of the Red Magic Tower.

Even the Red Tower Master had created Hellfire, known to burn everything.

They believed that everything related to the phenomenon of fire was a path permitted only to them.

However,

“If yours is the flame of hell… mine is the flame of the demon realm.”

The characteristic of demonic energy:

Corrosion.

The flame of the demon realm that embodies this.

The flame of hell that burns everything.

The flame of the demon realm that corrodes everything.

“Let me introduce it. I was inspired by your Hellfire.”

“Ha, this is insane…”

Ignius muttered in disbelief.

Then his expression filled with delight.

“Black Flame.”

With the Black Tower Master’s quiet murmur,

Massive flames erupted throughout the entire arena.

As pitch-black flames and hellish flames devoured each other.