Chapter 69 – Baldur’s Nightmare (3)

“We don’t know either. One day, it just appeared at the village entrance… At first, we naturally assumed it was part of Baldur’s Nightmare.”

“W-We’re sorry! We never worshipped demons or dabbled in black magic! Please, spare our lives…!”

Mareile’s notes ended abruptly there. They mentioned that the demonic statues had spread widely throughout the region and that this phenomenon had started relatively recently.

Goliath’s intelligence network far surpassed mine. She was probably ordered to rush back to Farencia due to Liv’s actions before any deeper investigation could begin.

Should I have spared her spine? Maybe if I had let her go earlier, I could have uncovered more information about these demonic statues by now.

“Well, it’s too late now.”

What’s done is done, and there may still be other agents dispatched to the Batudis region aside from her. I decided to focus on my task.

I questioned the villagers about the origins of the demonic statues, but my efforts yielded little success.

What stood out, however, was that these statues weren’t used as tools to recruit traitors loyal to demons or slaves to black magic.

The most notable examples of such schemes would be the necromancers of Baragal or the witches of the Black Night.

They typically infiltrated famine-stricken frontier villages, curing diseases or spreading their teachings.

Gradually, they would brainwash the villagers, leading them to adopt sacrificial rituals and cannibalistic customs, which would ultimately cause chaos and spread endemic diseases.

The final stage involved summoning Heljeb’s demonic beasts from the village cemetery and raising an army of the dead.

Demonic statues were often used in the preliminary stages of such operations, but this situation felt different.

The village was peaceful—so much so that the economy seemed to be flourishing as they traded items brought back from the illusions.

Above all, they wouldn’t have bothered to use illusion magic to disguise these demonic statues as statues of a goddess, making them more acceptable to the villagers.

<End of Magic> had only destroyed the outer shell of the statue. There were no curses or black magic attached to the statue itself.

So, the goal is simply to scatter these statues all across the Batudis region….

At this point, my investigation had reached a dead end.

Honestly, I deserved some praise for having come this far.

I wasn’t a hero, an adventurer, or a scholar. I couldn’t unravel mysteries with a flash of insight, nor could I open a status window to reveal the hidden secrets of this statue.

So, what should I do now?

Everything follows a cause and effect.

If someone jumped into shark-infested waters to surf, it would be inevitable that a blockbuster three-part ocean thriller would be filmed, dominating global cinemas.

The blonde fool who live-streamed it might scream in terror as their partner painted the ocean red like a watercolor painting.

The movie would end with the lone surviving heroine firing a flare into the sky after spearing the shark.

A predictable story anyone could come up with.

However, if a billionaire in an iron suit joined the cast, things would change. Not even a great white shark or a mosasaurus would stand a chance—the billionaire’s ex-wife alone could tear through a bunker like a bunker-buster missile.

And I had already demolished three magic towers.

“What a waste…”

I should have come to Batudis back then. Skipping it because I didn’t like the weather had been a mistake. But there was still time to do things right.

I began to run, heading toward the source of the nightmares, where the villagers had moved the demonic statues.

In the face of overwhelming power, magic often became meaningless.

***

“Hey, Liv. You have to hear this. The Shrine of Storms was incredible!”

Perhaps it was the imposing name, but the second-year students, who had been terrified of Baldur’s Nightmare, were full of admiration after visiting the shrine in groups.

Karen, who had been lucky enough to be in the first group to visit, spoke with wide, excited eyes, babbling about the magical principles she had uncovered until just before falling asleep.

“It’s not just about throwing yourself into the remnants of the past. How should I put it? It’s hard to explain, but for example, sound is invisible, right? But in Baldur’s Nightmare, the spell structure is polarized and can be interpreted through multiple perspectives within the fractured dimension! I even peeked into the academic presentation at Megrez Tower’s 13th regular meeting…”

Please. I don’t want to hear any more.

Lying in bed, Liv pulled the blanket from her lower belly up to her neck and turned away.

For the first time ever, Liv, a mage, couldn’t focus on magic. Even after coming all the way to the magic tower, a place brimming with learning opportunities, her thoughts were consumed entirely by Louis, Louis, Louis.

Her superiors became a burden, and the budding flower inside her was wilting, deprived of the water it needed to bloom.

Instead of turning all that longing toward magic—

The teacher and I love each other, so why are you interfering?

Liv simply wanted to turn her eyes away from reality.

“Liv?”

“No, go on. Keep talking.”

“Well, in front of the shrine, there’s this huge hole. It’s supposed to be the gate to the nightmare. Apparently, the tower’s control department can adjust the density of magical energy, even though they can’t completely eliminate the weather phenomenon. Even with all the precautions, two of the people who went with me couldn’t get out on their own. The deputy tower master had to extend their arm and forcibly pull them out.”

Well, that makes sense. Illusions can be so sweet—

As Liv listened to her friend’s description of how it felt like a dream, she drifted off to sleep.

***

The next morning.

The atmosphere at the tower had become quite hectic. From the hallway leading to the dining room for breakfast, Liv sensed the busyness in the air.

Professor Vincent and the other students seemed to notice it too, as he grabbed a passing apprentice and asked.

“Is something the matter?”

“Oh, um, no, sir. Nothing at all. There will be an announcement from the upper levels shortly, but students should proceed to their lectures as scheduled.”

Weeooo weeeeooo!

Before he even finished speaking, sirens blared from the top of the tower. The sound signaled that Baldur’s Nightmare had intensified. It was an alarm that went off several times a day.

Some of the second-year students who had grown accustomed to hearing it over the past few days furrowed their brows, but that was all. That alarm was the only thing keeping the residents living outside the tower from being dragged into the nightmare.

Weeeooo… clunk.

However, Liv noticed something strange. Perhaps others did too.

The alarm, which should have continued ringing for a while longer, suddenly cut off mid-blare.

She wondered briefly as she ate. Come to think of it, the same thing had been happening since dawn.

Could the alarm system be broken?

Liv mused as she spooned a few more mouthfuls of soup into her mouth, though her speculation was shallow at best. Even Professor Vincent, noticing her unusually small appetite, showed concern.

“Liv Labre. Not hungry this morning?”

“Huh? Oh, Professor. No, I’m fine.”

“You look tired. The tower environment is unfamiliar and always bustling. If you’re unwell, you’re free to rest in your room.”

“Thank you for your concern. I can still attend class.”

“If you say so.”

But it was Professor Vincent who looked more worried. A traditional elemental mage, he was never quite comfortable with the nature of Phecda’s Image Magic, dealing with invisible illusions.

Still, as the one responsible for leading the group, he handed Liv a pass card and said.

“There’s a mandatory interview. Your turn is at 2 PM, so be sure to move to the room listed on the card without being late.”

“Understood… Wait, Professor.”

“What is it?”

“The location listed here… It’s on the upper level of the tower.”

Generally, the lower levels of the tower were filled with apprentices and recent graduates working in research. The lower levels were always crowded, while the middle levels were occupied by reputable mages and scholars who trained their disciples.

The upper levels were restricted to the tower master, the deputy tower master, and their direct apprentices. Naturally, all academy student interviews were typically conducted in the reception rooms on the lower levels.

“Hmm, I only conveyed the instructions as they were given. It’s possible your grades influenced this.”

“My grades…?”

“Yes. It’s rare for the top student to be sent to Phecda instead of Dubhe or Mizar.”

Both Dubhe and Mizar were top-tier magic towers in terms of academics.

Perhaps that’s why Professor Vincent’s gaze on Liv, who had chosen Phecda over Dubhe, felt somewhat harsh. Maybe it was also because she was a baroness, having barely risen from commoner status.

“Just make sure not to embarrass the academy. Don’t be late.”

“…Understood.”

With a heavy heart, Liv nodded and placed the pass card inside her bag.

***

Weeooo… clunk.

“Ah, finally, that annoying noise stopped.”

I pulled my fist out of the wreckage of what had once been a field. The massive amounts of rubble and the few corpses scattered around vanished like mist.

All that remained on the barren, scorched ground was a solitary demonic statue.

I casually split it in half.

“It seems like they’re being found in certain predetermined locations…”

The three Moirai sisters had said the demonic statues served as markers.

If these statues were functioning as catalysts or anchors for some magic, their arrangement would have to follow some pattern.

But without a map, it was impossible to know the exact path I had taken. All I could do was continue smashing the nightmares that appeared as I circled around the noisy tower.

Once the nightmares were destroyed and the alarm stopped, I found a demonic statue about one out of every three times, left behind by the villagers.

Whatever they were trying to accomplish, destroying all the demonic statues here would eventually force them to come to me.

Until then, I’d just have to keep walking.

Clank!

This time, a small building that looked like a postal station, complete with a stable, appeared. Of course, there was no pasture here for the horses to graze on, so this, too, was an illusion.

Without hesitation, I opened the door and raised my fist.

“Who’s there?”

“I’ve come to deliver a message.”

BOOM!