SMMA 40

Chapter 40

The opponent was dressed like an ordinary traveler, yet he was by no means ordinary.
A true traveler would not be standing in the middle of an imperial road at dusk, blocking the passage where no one else was around.
Though he concealed himself under his cloak and coat, a pair of savage, vicious eyes gleamed from within the shadows of his face.

The workers’ voices grew sharper and harsher.
“This is your final warning! Reveal your identity right now!”

No reply came. The workers immediately fired their crossbows. With a harsh twang, the bolts whistled through the night.
Thud!
Instead of the sound of flesh being pierced, there was the dull noise of bolts hitting something solid. Without pausing, the workers rapidly reloaded.

The ones who transported supplies for the academy were not ordinary laborers.
Aside from confirming their identities, each was required to fight to protect the cargo in dire situations.
Former adventurers, mercenaries, and soldiers of the Empire—such men made up the ranks of these workers!

Thus, even faced with this sudden confrontation, they did not panic. With well-trained discipline they leapt from the wagons, readying crossbows and aiming at the enemy.
“Fire!”

“Fools. Do you even know whom you are serving right now?”
“…!”

The stranger spoke with a deep, rough voice that carried through the darkness, sounding all the more sinister.
“You are aiding the very magicians who corrupt the Empire. Before you are bewitched by their wicked arts, escape while you still can!”

“By the beard of my accursed ancestors! Anti-magic fanatics!”

A dwarven* worker shouted the words in terror, almost like a scream.

(*Footnote: Within fantasy settings, dwarves are often depicted as short, stout, and broad races, often working as warriors, smiths, or miners.)

They were imperial Anti-Magic zealots. Among the many rogues roaming the Empire, few groups were as notorious.
As their name implied, they loathed all forms of magic.

“Magic disrupts order! Magic destroys nature! Magic corrupts mankind!”—such were their cries.

And of course, they did far more than simply hate magic in words.
They assaulted magicians, and sometimes attacked magical academies themselves.

Why had such violent men been waiting here in ambush? There was only one answer.
“In the name of the Twilight Dawn!”
“In the name of the Twilight Dawn!”

With those shouts, the enemy charged forward. Their weapons, gleaming in the moonlight, drew uneasy gulps from the workers.

“Veil of Order!”

With a thunderous surge of power, a massive barrier of magical energy enveloped the wagons.
Those running forward were flung back, coughing up blood.

It was Professor Garcia’s spell.

“Wooah!”
“As expected of you, Professor!”

The armed workers cheered at his display of power.

But Garcia’s expression was not bright.

Because of his appearance, people often mistook Professor Garcia for a master of battle. The truth was far from it.

There existed a common prejudice that high magicians naturally excelled in combat, but that was mere misconception.
Magic and battle were worlds apart.

How could a librarian-sorcerer who had spent a lifetime buried in research manage to stay calm in the chaos of clashing steel and flying arrows?

Any lapse of focus, any small mistake, and a spell could twist into disaster—
Magic was the deadliest of double-edged swords.

It was no accident that hardened specialists trained in both combat and spellwork bore the distinct title of “battle mages.”

“Delay them.”

Professor Garcia swung his staff. Birds of light burst forth and soared into the skies.
These birds would alert the other professors at the academy of the danger.

“Withering bone, shriveling muscle!”

The raiders near the barrier screamed in agony. Corrupted power wrapped around them, cursing their bodies into weakness.

“Activate it!”

But their foes were no simple adversaries. Professor Garcia’s face darkened.

For the Empire’s Anti-Magic fanatics had fought magicians countless times before. They knew exactly how to counter them.

Woooong—!

A heavy vibration rattled through the air, shaking the ground and tearing at their eardrums. The surrounding magic flux grew unstable before being sucked inward all at once.

“!!!”

The “Veil of Order” dissolved instantly, like snow under the midsummer sun.

Professor Garcia was shaken by the sight.
“An ancient relic!”

There were indeed ways to counter spells.
The Empire possessed metals that could absorb or repel mana. Spells themselves could erase magic.

But nothing was supposed to exist that absorbed such vast amounts of magical energy over such a huge range.

Only one thing could perform such an impossible miracle—
An ancient relic.
Treasures found in ruins or dungeons, filled with forgotten mysteries and knowledge of a lost age.

That these zealots had come into possession of one…

“Professor! Get back!”

The workers tried to shield Garcia as the raiders closed in again with the barrier gone.

Garcia moved his staff, but his attempt at spellcasting collapsed—the mana ripped away and sucked into the relic before he could finish.

“You vile sorcerer! Feel the wrath of heaven!”

A fanatic charged ferociously, sword xbeing raised to cleave Garcia in two.

Crack!!!

At that instant, the raider’s head twisted violently aside.

“What…?!?”
“??!”

Both Garcia and the workers looked on in shock.
What just happened?

“It’s not the Headmaster’s trap, then.”

Ihan, from the rear carriage, could no longer deny reality after hearing the words “Twilight Dawn.”

If the Headmaster truly had plots this elaborate, stretching this far, Ihan would have no hope at all. He might as well spend eternity a graduate student under him.

Twilight Dawn.
Among the Empire’s anti-magic factions, they were infamous as the largest and fiercest clan.

Naturally, Ihan, who belonged to a lineage of imperial magicians, had heard their name.
But he never expected to actually meet them here…

“What are we going to do?”

“Ratford, you hide.”

“N-no way…?”

While Ratford reeled in surprise, Ihan was already chanting.
“I fade with the night.”

As the incantation ended, his form turned transparent. Even before Ratford could gasp in awe at the artifact’s effect, he cried out urgently.
“It’s dangerous! Those are not enemies you can handle lightly!”

“I know. That’s exactly why I’m being careful.”

Better to prepare now than miss a chance to strike and ruin everything by hiding passively.
Ihan was always one to prepare for the worst.

—Veil of Order!

“Perhaps the Professor will hold them?”

As Garcia’s shield expanded and his curse withered the raiders, Ihan’s hopes rose—
But the zealots produced their strange relic, instantly nullifying the spells, even dissolving Garcia’s defense with terrifying strength.

“!!!”

Ihan felt horrified—but in that horror, one relief revealed itself.

The relic had failed to cancel his artifact. His invisibility from the belt held fast.

The ambient mana collapsed, devoured into the relic—all except Ihan’s transparency.
Could this be the blessing of Prishinga?

“…No, it’s because of my mana.”

He quickly understood.
All mana nearby was being sucked into the relic—including his own.
But thanks to his immeasurable flow of mana, his belt simply refilled without ever finding emptiness.

Thus, his invisibility endured.
Like an immense battery sustaining the spell endlessly.

“They’re coming!”

No longer time to hesitate.
The enemies hurled themselves at Professor Garcia.

Crack!!!

As had once been admitted by both the aged knight Alarron and the elf swordmaster Ingaldel, Ihan did have talent for the blade.

And with invisibility aiding him, striking an enemy down in ambush was nearly effortless.

“Professor, it’s me—Ihan!”

He shouted quickly to Garcia, lest friendly fire cut him down by mistake.

“Ihan?! Why are you—?!”

“No time to explain! Just tell me what needs to be done!”
Snatching the fallen foe’s sword, he called urgently.

Professor Garcia blinked back to focus.
“I’ve sent a signal to the Academy. Support will come. Just hold until then, and keep yourself alive!”

Thunk, thunk—

Crossbow bolts whistled ferociously past overhead.

At first glance, their side appeared to have the upper hand. But Ihan detected it—their opponents moved with frightening mastery.

“They’re all expert swordsmen!”

Crossbows packed power, yes—but reloading left deadly openings.
The raiders watched keenly for those openings to rush in.

“Our workers won’t hold for long! Professor, can’t you cast more spells?!”

“All the mana here is being—wait.”

Garcia noticed then: even amidst the collapsed magic field, Ihan was still invisible.

“Such magic… how… Ah!”

Suddenly, realization struck him.
An endless pool of mana, deep as a bottomless well!

“Ihan. Lend me your power!”

Without hesitation, Ihan clasped his hand. Mana flowed violently between their grasp.

This wasn’t even surprising to Ihan anymore—he had witnessed Professor Volady do the same once before.

“Petra’s Diamond Spear!”

Garcia’s incantation thundered.

Originally, he’d intended to drag things out with defense—fearful of backlash.
But since the enemy had brought such a monstrous relic, he had no choice.
Even if it cost lives, the relic must be destroyed.

“!”

Ihan gaped as from empty space itself, a colossal spear of diamond** was summoned.

(**Footnote: Diamond weapons here are not mere weapons, but magically created constructs embodying indestructibility and immense destructive power.)

“Dodge!”
“Move!”

Even the zealots scattered in haste, recognizing its power.
Though the relic drained its surrounding mana, the conjured spear once born would not fade.

Crash!!!

With an earth-splitting roar, the colossal spear crashed into the relic.
At once, the magical flow of the area was restored.

“Lightning wolf, tear their flesh!”

Crackling filled the air as bolts of lightning coalesced into the shape of monstrous wolves.
The surging beasts leapt and crashed into the raiders, ripping and scorching alike.

“…!”

Ihan trembled in awe.
Watching the lightning wolves obliterate life before them was both horrific and awe-inspiring. His respect for the professor surged anew.

Wooooong—

“!?”

Ihan stiffened at the ominous noise he had heard once before.
The ruined relic stirred, flickering as though resurrecting.

“Kill that sorcerer! At all costs!”

Though dozens had fallen, the survivors charged fiercer than ever toward Garcia.

Ihan swung the stolen blade to cut them down.

Stab!

“There’s an invisible mage! An invisible devil is here!”

Blood spraying from the wound, a zealot spewed his words toward Ihan, flinging blood toward where he stood.

Ihan’s spine chilled.
“These are no ordinary warriors…”

They countered the unseen without hesitation, instinctively pinpointing his position—
It was like sparring against Alarron himself.

Worse, their leader now advanced into view, his posture alone radiating seasoned lethality.

Could Ihan protect Professor Garcia while fighting all these foes at once?

“I reveal myself in the morning.”

With that spell, Ihan dispelled his invisibility.
His sudden appearance startled the zealots.

“That boy… so young, a priestling?”

“What nerve. He can die at his master’s side.”

“Say what you like.”

“What…?”

“I’m going to destroy the relic!”

With those words, he dashed forward, straight at the ancient artifact.

The zealots’ faces twisted in panic as they realized their blunder.
Unprotected, the relic lay open to him.

“No! Stop him!!”